Merc For Hire: A Family Affair
by Ark2012
Summary: It's been a year since the events of Persona: Merc for Hire. Caius Gevauden has settled into a comfortable routine with his newly formed Strega. But when Margaret, Elizabeth's sister, shows up out of the blue, Caius may find that forming a team with a former Velvet Room attendant may come with issues that he has never imagined... sequal side story to "Persona: Merc for Hire"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry it's been so long, but I kinda lost interest for a while. But, now I'm back, and I decided to write a short sequel (or spin-off, depending on how you look at it) for Persona: Merc for Hire. If you haven't read that story yet, it's fine! This story only spoils it to a minimal amount, and you can totally read it without knowing what happened in Merc For Hire. I'd still recommend it though (tooting my own horn here :D). Alright, I'm gonna include some of the reading aids for the new readers here:

 _Inner thoughts or sound effects_

 _'Dialogue with/between Personas'_

 **Spells**

Disclaimer: I only own the OC

* * *

 _Dark Hour, Some Yakuza hideout in Tokyo_

I kicked open the coffin in the middle of the room, waiting patiently as the man within tumbled to the ground and laid there blinking dumbly. Behind me, I can hear Sho tapping his toes impatiently while Elizabeth flipped through her grimoire with mild disinterest. The man in front of me stayed on the ground for a few more seconds before swiftly sitting up and stuffing his hand into his front coat flap, only to be confronted with the barrels of my Lupara to his face.

"Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." I clucked my tongue at the man before looking down to a piece of paper in my hand. "Let's see…. Kazuya Higashi, right? Local leader of the Yakuza, and… my, you've been selling some very bad drugs to very young children, haven't you?"

"And who's asking?" Despite being stuck in the Dark Hour, Higashi was quite calm. Eubuleus chuckled in the back of my head

 _'Impressive. Let's see how long he can keep it up.'_

 _'Yeah… why not?'_ I smiled widely at Higashi.

"Let me introduce myself… my name is Caius Gevauden, Profession: contract killer. Interest and hobbies: drinking booze and kicking ass. Unfortunately, I'm all out of booze and there's a hefty contract on your death by…" I trailed off, stopping myself with a smile. "Ah, sorry, can't tell. Professional stuff, you know. Protect the client and all… You'd understand right? After all, you got a handful of clients yourself."

 _Wouldn't do to give away the poor mother's name to her son's drug dealer, now would it?_

"What, them? You working with the cops or something?" Higashi spat at my feet. "How 'bout this, I spill a few names for you and you cart your sorry ass out of here and leave me alone?!"

 _'So much for honor among thieves…'_ Eubuleus snorted. I rolled my eyes, and I heard Sho snickering and Elizabeth clucked her tongue in annoyance. As we were doing that, Higashi looked around and his eyes widened.

"Wait… this ain't right… WHAT DID YOU PRICKS DO TO MY HIDEOUT?! WHY IS EVERYTHING BLOODY GREEN AND COFFINS EVERYWHERE?!" I blinked in surprise at Higashi's bewilderment. Even Eubuleus was shocked.

"What…?"

 _'So… he wasn't unfazed, just… stupid?!'_

Behind me, Sho bursted out laughing while Elizabeth allowed herself a little giggle. The mobster in front of us, losing all composure and regards for the shotgun still aimed as his face, grabbed a pistol from his jacket and pointed it at me and my team with shaking hands.

"ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!" I sighed in exasperation as my teammates continued their amused chortles.

"Well… for starters, you should stop screaming. It kinda ruins the tough guy image that you had going on back there. And secondly, you might want to point that thing behind you, if you still wanna live for like, 5 more seconds or so."

Spinning around, Higashi was confronted by a mass of writhing Shadows. A simple Maya, to be clear, but still a Shadow nonetheless, and far above the mobster's ability to intimidate and fight. A few gunshots later, Higashi was engulfed by the murky ichor of the Shadow, his screams echoing through the empty room. On my left, Sho watched with an eager smile on his face, while to my right Elizabeth sniffed and looked on with slight distaste.

A gloved hand touched my arm and the elevator attendant drew close, whispering in my ear.

"That quite enough Caius. Put the poor man out of his misery. This is unbecoming of a gentleman." I smirked slightly before raising my gun.

"As you wish."

 _BAM_. Higashi's brains splattered all over the wall behind him as the Shadow skittered out of sight. Sho snorted in annoyance next to me.

"Why did you do that? It was just getting fun!"

"It was too loud and unnecessary." I retorted, as we walked towards the exit. "When you start your own Merc group you can be as sadistic as you want, but here in Strega, you follow my rules."

"Tch, and you never let me kill anyone either. Why can't I slit a few throats?"

"Well, for starters, I think you've slit quite enough throats just for tonight." I answered, pointing to the corridor that lead to the room, which was splattered with Shadow ichor. All courtesy of Sho Minazuki. "And secondly, you're not a legal adult yet."

"Never stopped you when it came to booze…"

"Well killing someone is not the same as taking a shot of whiskey, is it?" I sighed, rubbing my temple with a thumb. "Look, once you turn 20, I'll let you have a few kills. But before then, get off my back about it and don't rush into this business of sullying your soul."

Sho quieted down, grumbling to himself about "unreasonable leaders" and "stupid fake brothers" and stuff like that, while Elizabeth hummed cheerfully and bumped against me slightly while skipping along. Eubuleus chuckled from the back of my mind.

 _'Dude you are so whipped, you don't even know it.'_

 _'Shut the hell up.'_

Chuckling to myself, I lightly bumped Elizabeth back as she skipped, causing the elevator attendant to stumble and playfully glare at me. I smirked, while Sho made a mock retching noise to the side. Elizabeth smacked me on the arm before strutting off ahead with her nose in the air, her smile softening the haughty gesture.

And none of us noticed it when a shining velvet blue door appeared back in the room where Higashi's remains now laid, where a feminine figure stepped out.

"My, my, my. Is this the kind of activity you entertain yourself with nowadays Elizabeth?" A mature, slightly seductive voice rang out along the corridors. "I expected somewhat better of you, sister."

Eyes widening, I spun around to see a tall, beautiful woman in a blue secretary outfit looking down at the mobster's remains with a slightly annoyed expression. Her platinum blonde hair, the same shade as Elizabeth's, flowed down to her shoulders. And in her right hand, she clutched a grimoire, of the same design but noticeable thicker than the one in Elizabeth's hands. Without speaking, I swiftly reloaded my Lupara. Apparently Sho had the same idea, going by the slithering of metal as he loosened his swords from their sheathes. The woman seemed unperturbed by our apprehension.

"Margaret! Sister, it is so good to see you again!" The cheerful voice of Elizabeth broke the tension in the air. The elevator attendant skipped over to Margaret, giving her a quick hug that the secretary accepted with a resigned face. "My, you haven't changed a bit in the last few years!"

"I wish I can say the same of you, dear Elizabeth. So much of you has changed since you left the Velvet Room…" Margaret sighed slightly. "But don't get me wrong. The title of 'Wild Card' fits you well… as does the title of 'Fool'." Elizabeth pouted at her sister's jab.

"Well that wasn't very nice…"

Sighing to myself, I cleared my throat, catching the attention of both sisters.

"I am truly sorry to ruin the moment, but we're are currently in a den full of transmogrified Yakuza members who we were not paid to kill, and half of the Dark Hour is already over. And that's according to this watch, which already has a few decades of wear and tear on it." I announced, tapping the mechanical stop watch I kept around my wrist. "So… I would kinda appreciate it if we can take this conversation somewhere else?"

"Yes, that would be wise, but except for Elizabeth, none of you have the right to enter the Velvet Room…" Margaret looked thoughtfully at the blue door shining on the wall. "Well Elizabeth, you won't mind if we move us all to somewhere more private, now would you?"

"Not at all, sister." Smiling to herself, Margaret placed a hand onto her grimoire, murmuring incantations under her breath. Magical circles emitted from her, engulfing us all in a bright flash of light…

* * *

I waited restlessly at the peak of Heaven with Sho as the two sisters talked and laughed with each other on the other side of the plaza. It wasn't just me either, the punster was also on edge, eyes darting left right and center. After all, the last time both of us were here, roughly one year ago, a crazy primordial god tried to rip both our Personas out to strengthen himself. So it would make sense that being in this place again, even after a year's time, would set both of us on edge.

No such memories plagued Elizabeth and Margaret though, as they chatted happily away in the other corner of the plaza. Sho shot a glare in their direction and then snorted in annoyance.

"How long are they gonna take?" Sho snarled. "They should really hurry it up. This place gives me the creeps…"

"Same here." I agreed. "But I'd rather not push them. This place is a decent place for a meeting, and Liz hasn't met any of her family for at least a year, I think. You know how these Wild Cards are. Bonds are everything to them."

"I know, I know. _He_ was the same way as well. Narukami." Sho spat out the name like an insult, but the soft amusement in his eyes lessened the venom in his voice. "Always playing the buddy-buddy guy. World Arcana my ass, he's just a bloody Fool like the rest of his team."

"True… but then again, you can't really hate him for it." I replied, a smile coming to my face at the thought of Narukami. After Strega was reformed, we officially opened the revenge site once more and entered government employment as a side job, and of course as Strega we clashed with the Shadow Operatives more than once. And obviously, Narukami being Narukami, he always tried to make friends with us every time our two teams clashed. He even managed to e-mail a Christmas card to our revenge site e-mail address last year, which we had a good laugh at and sent back with our own holiday greetings. After that, Elizabeth told me that she received a boost from Social Link of the Fool Arcana. No guessing who that represented.

 _'She still won't tell us which arcana Strega represents for her though…'_ Eubuleus grumbled at the back of my head. _'Even though we did a fuck ton of research on the major Tarot arcanas and pestered her for ages…'_

 _'Hey, I pestered her, okay? You could've just went up to any one of her army of Personas and asked, but nooooo… you failed at that as well. How hard is it to convince ONE Persona in MILLIONS to tell you?'_

 _'The only Persona she uses with enough frequency to know about her Social Links is Thanatos. And no way in Hell am I engaging in an extended conversation with Thanatos.'_ Eubuleus shivered slightly. _'That Persona is creepy as all Hell.'_

 _'Awww… are you scared?'_

 _'Look Chucko, imagine Pyramid Head from Silent Hill only with the dialogue of an immortal PTSD suffering war veteran who's been through WWII, Vietnam, AND Afghanistan along with a dozen other smaller wars. That is Thanatos. He's seen some shit, including Minato's fate. And… let's just say he doesn't deal with it that well…'_

 _'Okay… that does sound bad…'_

 _'Hey, I think they're done talking.'_

Sure enough, as I raised my head I saw the two sisters walking over, both still laughing as some inside joke. I could distinctly make out the words "Theodore" and "dog food", but everything else was lost in giggles and hushed whispers. By the time they got to us, I noticed empty cola cans in both of their hands. Elizabeth turned around and faced her sister with a smile.

"Well, sister, this has been an absolutely charming visit. But I do have to leave now. It is getting late, and while us Residents would not really need to eat or sleep, I do have to keep a mind out for the basic needs of my human companions." Elizabeth gave a small bow to her sister. "However, I would suggest that we arrange a weekly or monthly meeting somewhere in this TV dimension. It's simply been too long."

"Actually… I was about to ask you about your human companions." Margaret responded, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I understand that after your quest to free the soul of your former guest came to an end, these companions are the reason that you did not return to the Velvet Room. I also understand that these companions are not the ones that accompanied your guest in his own journey. And in addition to that, it seems that you don't quite have your own journey yet, instead aiding this young man along his own story as a supporting character."

"That is correct." Elizabeth answered, a bit of wariness creeping into her voice.

"Well then, in that case I have a request to your friend. Mr. Caius Gevauden." Margaret directed her gaze to me. "I will challenge you to a battle. Here, one on one, within anytime in the next month. You shall show me what my dear sister has seen in you. Although I should also remind you that the with power I hold, you need to fight me with death in mind. As would I."

At those words my mind went blank. Sho was also slack-jawed with shock. Even Elizabeth gasped slightly at her sister's request.

"Sister…"

"This is my request, Elizabeth. Please do not interfere." Margaret's soft voice hid a bit of an edge. "Your answer, Gevauden-san?"

"…." I swallowed deeply. Margaret arched an eyebrow.

"Pardon me?"

"No. No, no, no, nada, nope, no-can-do, not my problem, NOPE!" Throwing my hands up, I repeated my answer like a mantra as I paced back and forth in front of Margaret, who seemed fairly surprised and amused at the same time. "No. I JUST survived an encounter with one cosmic entity last year by the skin of my teeth, and that was because the bloody sonofabitch wanted to wipe out humanity. AND I had the entire Shadow Ops with me. AND Elizabeth. AND Sho. AND Minazuki. And still it was CLOSE. Like WAY TOO CLOSE.

"I mean I admit that I am, in some ways, a personification of the word 'death seeker', but I do NOT want to pick a fight with a friggin' cosmic Goddess from the other end for no good reason. No, no, no, fuck no. I'm out. Sho, Elizabeth, let's go home. Fuck this shit I'm out." Spinning on my heels, I grabbed both Elizabeth and Sho by the hand and started dragging them towards the exit, leaving a very amused Margaret behind us.

"Would it change your answer if I said that once a month has passed and you haven't challenged me yet, I would come and return Elizabeth back to the Velvet Room? By force if need be. And that also applies if you don't prove yourself to be worthy of my sister's companionship." Margaret's voice was as sweet as ever, but it stopped me dead in my tracks, a chill running down my spine.

"Well fuck me sideways with a cactus…." I grumbled.

* * *

 _An hour later, apartment suite owned by Strega  
_

I collapsed on the sofa in my room, rubbing a finger against my temple. Sho should be either in bed or trying to connect with Minazuki in the TV world at this point, or he might just be raving into the void about Margaret's request. Judging by what his ranting on the way back home, Sho didn't take to Margaret's request any better than the rest of us. Elizabeth, however, was silent all the way back.

And talking about Margaret's request…

 _'What a bloody mess… Eubuleus, did you get a read on her at all?'_

 _'She's at least Elizabeth's level, that's for sure. I can't tell you anything else.'_

 _'Can we take her, at least?'_

 _'Nah. With Elizabeth taking the brunt of it maybe we can be an annoyance to her, but that would go against the rules… As it stands though, we have about as much chance of beating her as a praying mantis does a house cat.'_

 _'Well… this means we're just as screwed as we were a year ago.'_

 _'Pretty much, yeah.'_

Margaret has not demanded an answer from me yet, instead being happy with waiting in the top of Heaven for a full month. But that was only a small comfort… in that I am 100% sure I will not have any major leaps in combat abilities that would help me win this. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. My recent shower helped alleviate the headache a bit, but not by a lot.

A knock came from my door, which I answer with a yell.

"Come in!"

The door creaked open, and Elizabeth came in, barefoot, wearing a set of navy blue velvet pajamas and lacking the blue cap that usually adorned her head. I smiled at her, reminiscing about how that set of pajamas was the first thing she bought with her cut of the paycheck from the new Strega's first mission together. Moving to one side, I made space on the sofa for her, but she just walked closer and stood there with an unsure expression on her face.

"Caius… I…" She hesitated, and I can almost taste the words that she's contemplating. "I've thought it through and… I think I will return to the Velvet Room with Margaret."

 _'Figures.'_ Eubuleus snorted in my mind. I silently agreed.

"Do you really want to return, Elizabeth?"

"It's my duty to be there. I've shirked it for long enough." The elevator attendant replied quietly. "Margaret is right, it's past time I returned to my post."

"That's not what I asked Elizabeth." I waved a hand impatiently. "Do you want to go back to the Velvet Room?"

"It… It's not a matter of want or not! It's my duty!" Elizabeth insisted. "A duty so sacred that I stopped my relationship with… _him_ just to uphold it!"

"And you, quite wisely, abandoned it to save his soul." I replied. "Look, Elizabeth, did the Velvet Room not exist before you came into being? And has the Velvet Room ceased to function since your absence?" Elizabeth opened her mouth, just to close it again and look down.

"No…"

"So what is this really about? Because your duty is clearly being upheld by someone even without you there."

"I…" Elizabeth refused to meet my eyes, instead staring intensely at her own feet. "I've stayed under your hospitality for too long, even regarding your debt to me for the events last year. And… I don't want you being hurt by Margaret."

"So that's it, isn't it…?" Sighing to myself, I stood up and walked towards Elizabeth, lifting her chin until our eyes met. "Look, I'm not as suave as Narukami or Arisato with this, but I can tell you that… this whole friendship and emotional ties thing is not measured in debts. You saved my life a year ago, and you've pulled more than your own weight in our little Merc company since then. You are no burden to me, or Sho for that matter, at all. And as your teammate and as your friend, it's my duty to fight for your wishes just as much as it is your duty to fight for mine. So answer me… Do you want to go back to the Velvet Room?" A long pause followed, while Elizabeth started trembling slightly.

"No… I don't. How could I?" Elizabeth's eyes started filling with tears. "After… after him… and after you… after this team and everything I've seen that this world, transient as it is, has to offer… How can I go back to the never-changing world Velvet Room, while this world still exists…?"

"That's the answer I'm looking for. There, there, no need to cry. You won't be returning to the Velvet Room while I still draw breath." I smirked confidently at Elizabeth. "And I am very hard to kill. Just ask Project Prometheus, the Shadow Operatives and all of those who stood against us a year ago."

"But… Margaret…"

"Is scary as all fuck, which only means that we need to do more planning in order to defeat her or impress her, whichever is easier." I gently head-butted Elizabeth in the forehead, prompting a reluctant giggle from the elevator attendant. "Just checking though, if we all jumped her, You, me, and Sho, do you think we can beat her back?"

"No. Her powers are much more developed than mine. I fear that neither you nor Sho would survive the encounter if you jumped into a serious clash between Margaret and I. And she will still be the victor."

"Figures. Still worth asking though…" Sighing to myself, I fell back onto the sofa and patted the space next to me, inviting Elizabeth to sit down. "Alright then. Tell me about Margaret then. I need to know all I can about her if I am to pull this shit off." Elizabeth hesitated for a second, then smiled and sat down next to me. As she sat down, she pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned against me, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Well… Margaret and I were born in the Velvet Room several human centuries ago, but as time doesn't flow the same way in the Velvet Room it just felt like a decade or two for us…"

* * *

Name: Caius Gevauden

Persona: Eubuleus Arcana: Death

Affinities:

Physical: Resist Fire: Weak Ice: Null Wind: - Thunder: - Light: Null Darkness: Null

Skills:

Jester's Privilege (special skill. Heat Riser + Debilitate)

Bufudyne

Mabufudyne

Amrita

Angelic Grace

Atom Smasher

Ghastly Wail

Power Charge

* * *

A/N: As ya'll can see, this short fic (I'm guessing 3 chapters maximum) would be focused on Caius/Elizabeth fluff. But of course there will be the customary loads of action fight scenes because this is a fic written by me. :D

Also, in the highly likely case that this does not attract the attention of many readers who read and loved "Persona: Merc for Hire", do you guys thing it would be a better idea to tag this as a new chapter in that old story? Just leave a review telling me so.

So I'll try to update next week, like usual. Seeya guys, please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Once again, I only own the OC...

* * *

 _5 am, Suite owned by Strega_

 _BANG BANG BANG_

The door finally opened under my relentless knocking, a very grumpy redhead pocking his head out from behind the door. As soon as my mind registered Sho's face, I seized him by his shoulders and started shaking him with a feverish excitement.

"SHO! I need you to tell me EVERYTHING you can about the TV world around Inaba!" I shouted at the rattled punster, my voice brimming with excitement. "Dungeons, landmaks, recent history, structures, what Narukami's team did when they were in there during Adachi's reign of terror, EVERYTHING! A map would be nice as well."

"I… am terribly sorry about how Caius is right now, Sho. I don't know what came over him, he just jumped out of the sofa with a shout and sprinted here…" Elizabeth's apologetic voice came from behind me. "And… would you also mind removing the knife from Caius' throat?"

Looking down, I noticed that while I was shaking Sho, the punter had grabbed a combat knife from God-knows-where and was pressing it against my throat, the sharp blade drawing tiny beads of blood.

"Huh… when did that get there…?" I wondered out loud, my voice slurring a bit as I eyed the blade. "Oh cool… you mark the pommels of your combat knives…"

' _Caius… why don't you summon me so I can cast Amrita and wake you up properly…?'_ Eubuleus sounded embarrassed, and I was far too gone to care why.

"Wha… Hey, if you feel like I'm functionally de-buffed from an all-nighter…" I slurred out loud, my thoughts alone no longer coherent enough to properly communicate with Eubuleus. "…do you really trust me to go searching for my evoker within a pile of weapons and junk…?"

' _Fair enough…'_ In front of me, Sho, still trapped in my grasp and still holding a knife against my throat, shot a bewildered look to Elizabeth.

"Uhh... Liz? What happened to our witless leader?"

"I… believe he's talking to his Persona, not trusting his mind to form coherent thoughts without his voice guiding it along…" Although she obviously knew exactly what was happening with me, Elizabeth still answered Sho's question with hesitation. "I am sorry Sho… can you please remove the knife and come with us to the common room? I trust that Caius does not mean you any harm. I can explain once everyone sits down."

"You… _trust_ that he does not mean me any harm?" Sho repeated, incredulous. Nevertheless, he still lowered the knife and gave me a shove. Unsteady on my feet, I stumbled back wildly before Elizabeth caught me, swinging my arm over her neck and propping me upright. Sho stared at me in exasperation for a few seconds before shaking his head and placing the knife into his pocket. "There has better be a damn good explanation for this…"

"Yes, of course there is…" Elizabeth answered unconvincingly, pulling me towards the common room. Sho followed and gave a low whistle and my handiwork on the coffee table.

The table was an absolute mess, covered with broken pencils and scribbled papers, as well as a coffee maker, a half full mug of coffee, and countless empty bags that used to contain coffee beans. In the middle of the table was a large notepad with the word 'Margaret' written in the middle and 7 Personas listed around it. Next to it was a long list of various aspects of Margaret's personality, stashed next to a giant shopping list. Sho reached down to pick up one of the scrap papers, only to have his hand slapped away as I lurched over to protect my notes.

"No! Don't touch, this is… This is a comprehensive map of Margaret, a map that points me to victory... Sun Tzu said: 'Know your enemy and know thyself, and you shall… defeat or impress every single shitty cosmic god or goddess that wants to fight you over your girl'… or something along those lines…"

I collapsed down onto the sofa, gazing groggily around me. Elizabeth looked like she was blushing… now why would she do that…? I shook my head violently trying to clear it, only giving myself another headache. I reached out towards the coffee mug. "I need more coffee."

"No, you will most definitely have no more coffee." Elizabeth retorted sharply, slapping my hand away and giving the mug to Sho. The punster gave me a smug look before taking a sip from my mug. "You had six mugs in the last 3 hours alone. I do believe that the caffeine has at least partially contributed to your current state of mind."

" _Partially_ contributed? He should be dead after six mugs of this." Sho replied, looking down at the mug with exasperation. "This shit is strong… seems like our witless leader wanted to stay awake by any beans necessary…"

"Goddammit, can't you stay off the puns for a bit…?" I grumbled incoherently. Elizabeth sighed and Sho chuckled.

"You can start criticizing my sense of humor once you get enough sleep to expresso yourself clearly." With a smirk, the punster took another sip from my mug before turning back to Elizabeth. "So Liz, what's the story?"

"So… as far as I know, this is what happened…" Elizabeth started recounting carefully, as I buried my face in my hands trying to clear up my headache and regain my coherence.

Nothing really happened after all. After making up my mind to take on Margaret in her challenge, I spent most of the night listening to Elizabeth talk about Margaret while drawing out a list of her preferred Personas and all her personality quirks ( _seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree… beneath that mature facade Margaret is just as crazy as Liz is. I would never want to meet their parents…_ ). I also inquired heavily into the physiology of the Residents, including how similar to Shadows the Residents truly are ( _Elizabeth was kinda miffed by that question, but answered nonetheless. I should make it up to her later…_ ).

Using that information, I drew up a list of items that would be useful for the inevitable beat-down once I actually stand in the ring with Margaret ( _don't think about the pain don't think about the pain don't thing about the pain…_ ), as well as a potential plan to weaken her once shit really hits the fan. The massive amounts of coffee also helped ( _I don't think Elizabeth knew the full ramifications of allowing someone to drink six mugs of coffee …)._ All that was still needed, was a battlefield that can be sculpted in my favor…

"… and then suddenly he jumped up and said 'I need Sho, right now.' Before I can even react, he was already at your door trying to knock it down…" Elizabeth finished her story, sighing slightly. Sho was staring at me incredulously. "I think he wants to know everything about the TV world, and unfortunately my knowledge of it doesn't seem specific enough to satisfy him."

"Of course not! I don't need to know about the nature of the TV world, Adachi already told me enough of it as is!" I looked up, still buzzing from the caffeine rush and my own eureka moment. "I need to know the specifics of all the dungeons! Like, Heaven was created when Nametame and Narukami's sister jumped in right? What about the other areas of the world? I need to know all the specifics of those locations, including their coordinates and history and…" Before I can finish, Sho had grabbed onto the back of my head and was staring at me straight in the eye.

"Look Caius, I want Liz to stay as much as you do, so I'll tell you everything you want to know, even though I have no idea what kind of bullshit plan is going through your mind right now. After all, none of them has been too crazy to work so far…" Laughing in relief, I opened my mouth to thank him, only for the punster to cut across me. "But that would have to wait until you get a decent amount of sleep. So for that to happen, how about something to help you _SLEEP_?!"

With the final word, Sho pulled my head forward sharply and rammed his forehead into mine with the force of a battering ram. I grunted in pain as my vision flashed from the blow.

"Bloody traitor…" I muttered as I fell backwards, my vision dimming as I spiraled into unconsciousness…

* * *

 _? hours later, Same place as before_

 _Ugh… what time is it…?_ I twitched from my position lying down. My head was cushioned on something quite soft, which I appreciated a lot at the moment. The dull throbbing on my forehead reminded me why I was asleep in the first place, and I sniffed in annoyance. _Goddammit Sho, why did you have to do that? I should buy a forehead protector next time around…_ As I thought that, I turned over to a side and snuggled my head deeper into my pillow. As I did so, I heard a small intake of breath above me. _What…?_ I cracked an eyelid open, turning my gaze towards the direction of the gasp, which should be a short distance above my head…

I saw Elizabeth looking down at me, a small blush on her cheeks. But with Elizabeth's face hovering so close above me… that can only mean that this wonderfully soft pillow in which I have been sleeping on for quite a while… is Elizabeth's lap. Well, not the worst thing to find out first thing in the morning…

"Good morning." I mumbled. Elizabeth flinched slightly, as if waking up from a daze.

"G-good evening. You've been asleep all day." Elizabeth replied, the blush still on her face. "I believe Sho was a bit heavy handed in his handling of you, but I'm glad you got some sleep."

"Eh, fuck him. I'll get him back one day…" I answered sleepily. "What time is it?"

"7 pm."

 _So… I've been asleep for 14 hours and woke up on Elizabeth's lap. Huh… You know what? I'm extremely okay with this…_

 _'Pervert.'_ Eubuleus chuckled at the back of my mind. I clucked my tongue in annoyance.

 _'You know what? If one day you find a nice lady Persona or lady Shadow or whatsnot and fall hard for them, I'll laugh just as hard at you.'_

 _'You know that's impossible. Shall I recite the verse again? 'I am thou… and thou art I… from the sea of thy souls I come…''_

 _'Shut up.'_ Shifting myself around so that my head was in a more comfortable position on Elizabeth's lap, I looked up to Elizabeth with a playful smile.

"So how long has my head been laying on your lap?" Elizabeth's blush, which has just died down very slightly, returned full force at my question.

"Uh… well, of course it hasn't been that long… I just thought you would be uncomfortable especially given that you were just head butted by Sho, so I…" I stopped Elizabeth's spluttering with a wave of my hand.

"That doesn't answer the question, Liz. How long has my head been resting on your lap?"

"… since you passed out." Elizabeth whispered, her face glowing crimson. "Us Residents don't need any mortal sustenance; not do we require sleep… so I decided I'd just sit here until you woke up…"

"Huh… I'm touched… This is a _very_ comfortable lap." I mumbled, just loud enough for Elizabeth to hear, making her blush even more that before. "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome…" Elizabeth whispered back. I hummed contently and snuggled closer to Elizabeth.

"Damn, get a room you two…" Sho's voice suddenly drawled out. With a squeak of surprise, Elizabeth jumped up, causing me to tumble off her lap and land on the floor with a loud crash. Groaning in pain, I looked up to see Sho standing behind the sofa with a surprised expression. "What? Didn't you know that I was home, Liz? I even passed by you lovebirds a few time during the day."

"I… sorry, I was just startled by your voice, that's all." Elizabeth replied quietly, still blushing and looking miffed. Rubbing my head, I crawled off the floor and sat down on the sofa next to the elevator attendant. Sho walked around and dropped three bentos on the coffee table.

"I ordered take-out, by the way." Popping open one of the bentos, Sho forked out some of the salad. "After all, our witless leader just slept for the whole day, and he must be starving. So lettuce eat!" I groaned slightly before handing Elizabeth a bento and opening my own.

"Whatever… Anyways Sho, I believe before you knocked me out for my own good, you promised me some info?" I picked up a slab of steak with my chopsticks, blowing on it to cool it down. "So spill it. I need to know as much as possible about every dungeon in the TV world."

"Chill dude. I drew you a map here while you were out cold." Sho dropped a stack of paper onto the coffee table. "But what do you plan on doing with all the info about the TV world dungeons? I mean if you tell me first, then I should be able to pick out what to tell you. Or else we'd be here for a week and the story still won't end."

"Fair enough…" I admitted. "Then huddle close boys and girls. Here's my grand plan to defeat Margaret… or at least the trappings of it." Sho and Elizabeth huddled closer as I started telling them the rough draft of the plan that had sprung to my mind last night. As I spoke, both their expressions got more and more incredulous. By the time I finished, Sho was completely slack jawed, while Elizabeth's eyes were as round as saucers.

"Jesus Christ, you gotta be nuts if you think that would work…" Sho let out a low whistle, running his hand through his red hair. "I knew you were crazy Caius… but this is even crazier than the 'I will destroy the world' stunt I tried to pull with Hi-no-Kagutsuchi last time around… and this is me saying it."

"But it just might be our best chance…" Elizabeth looked thoughtful. "After all, using any sane methods, Margaret is unbeatable by anyone in our team… with this plan though, you might be able to even the playing fields, even just a tiny bit."

"I guess you're right…" Sho acknowledged. "But, Caius, you're missing something. If you are going to carry out this plan, you'd need to talk to someone first."

"Who?" Sho snorted at my question.

"Who else? You're fighting in the TV world. Who else to ask, if not the keeper of that world?" At Sho's words, the answer dawned upon me.

 _'Marie.'_ Eubuleus and I answered at the same time, a sinking feeling forming in our stomach.

* * *

 _A few hours later, Somewhere in the TV World._

 _'You sure she would answer?'_ I asked Eubuleus uneasily. The Persona snorted.

 _'Of course she would. She's a Goddess, she has to listen to people's prayers all day. She'll hear, and she'll come. What she does after coming here though, is anyone's guess…'_

 _'True, that…'_ I breathed in deeply. The last time I interacted with Marie directly, I was kidnapping Inaba's mayor while holding the rest of the town hostage. The mayor's death and Marie's subsequent kidnapping by my employer would not have improved her impression of me, even though I was technically part of the party that ended up rescuing her in the end.

 _'Well… time to take a leap, like usual…'_ Taking in a deep breath, I screamed out towards the sky.

"MARIE, MARIE, MARIE! IZANAMI-NO-MIKOTO! I BEG AN AUDIENCE WITH THEE!" My voice, augmented with SP from Eubuleus, ringed through the TV world, echoing a few times back and forth. For a second, nothing happened. _Did she not hear…?_

"Did you really have to yell such a weird chant?" An exasperated voice came from behind me. "A normal prayer would've been fine. I'm not Satan, nor am I one of the Fae, so you don't need to chant my name three times to summon me or something…" Turning around, I saw Marie standing behind me, looking vaguely annoyed. The Goddess of Inaba was wearing an outfit that consists of a brown leather jacket over a black tank top and jeans, with thigh high boots adorning her legs. Hanging from her shoulder was a single strap backpack with various shiny baubles adorning its side.

"Well, since the last time we spoke it was quite an antagonistic situation… I thought that maybe a bit of formality was in order to smooth things out a bit this time around. I am sorry for what I did in the past, and grateful that you came, despite our previous disagreements." I bowed slightly at Marie, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, while you did piss me off last time we met, you were not responsible for what your employer did." Marie sniffed slightly at the mention of her former kidnapper. "And Yu did fill me in on what you did to help save me. I doubt you did it for my sake, but I think I'll let you start over in my books with a blank slate. Whatever. I don't think you'd make such a weird show of summoning me if this was just to give an apology. Speak now, what do you need?"

"Well, I have two favors to ask." I explained eagerly, relieved that the Goddess was in an amiable mood. "The first is… is it possible within the next month to flood this world with fog once more, even just for a day?" Marie blinked slightly at my request, her mouth slightly agape.

"You want to… temporarily fill this world with fog once more? It's definitely possible, but why would you want to do such a thing?"

"Well… let's just say that I have to face a strong foe, and if we fought in the open I would never stand even half a chance. I need the Fog of Concealment to aid me in this fight, so that I can even the playing fields, just a little bit."

"Huh… to be honest, I'm quite curious to who you're fighting… after all, there's not many in this world who can threaten a man like you, Caius… Wait, it's not Narukami, isn't it?" At the mention of the Fool, Marie's tone sharpened. I raised my hands amiably.

"No it's not Narukami, nor is it anyone form the Shadow Operatives." I explained. "And rest easy… because I doubt that even with the favors I'm asking of you, I'd be lucky to leave a dent on their demeanor." Marie visibly relaxed at my words.

"Huh, good to hear it's not him. But now I'm really intrigued about who you're fighting… It does suit you, sneaking around in the fog like a mouse." Marie said, looking thoughtful. "Filling this world with Fog for up to a week is perfectly acceptable, since a temporary fog is actually healthy for the World of Inaba's soul. But you can do it yourself, as long as you hold enough power. I mean, you still control Ameno Sagiri, the part of me that produces the fog." My eyes widened with the revelation.

"Then… if I get enough power, I can flood this world with fog whenever I want?" Marie chuckled before shaking her head.

"Don't get any ideas… the power required is physically impossible to be held by an unaided human body. You would need someone else to power the spell for you, someone inhumanly strong, far past that of a Wild Card." I opened my mouth to speak, just to be cut off by the Goddess once more. "And no, your friend Elizabeth cannot do it. Her brand of power is too different from mine to be compatible. It would be akin to fueling a steam engine with car batteries, or something like that."

"So… would you help me, Marie?" I asked tentatively. Marie smiled, clearly enjoying the sway she has over me right now.

"I'll think about it. Now, tell me about your second favor."

"Well… I learned about this from Elizabeth, but apparently when Narukami was in Inaba, you were in the Velvet Room and handled something called 'Skill Cards' for him?" Frowning slightly, the Goddess of Inaba nodded. "I was wondering if you still had that power, and if I can beg two of those Skill Cards from you."

"Of course I still have that power. The abilities of the Velvet Room stay with you until death, or else Elizabeth would not have control over Minato Arisato's Persona Compendium after she left the Velvet Room all those years ago." Marie waved a hand absentmindedly. "However, why would you need those Skill Cards? Is this also to face that foe that you're talking about?" I nodded. Marie laughed slightly.

"Well then, this is getting more interesting than I thought. Yes, both of your favors can be granted by me, but what are you willing to trade for it? After all, we're not really friends here, aren't we?" I swallowed hard at Marie's question.

"Anything, as long as I still get to fight that foe." I held Marie's gaze for a while, and something in the Goddess' eyes softened.

"You've changed since we last met, Caius. Perhaps for the better." The Goddess whispered, before waving her hand, summoning up two cards. "Tell me which Skills you want on those two cards." I told her, and the Goddess muttered an incantation, inscribing the runes onto the cards.

"I will take you up on your offer of 'anything' for three times. You will owe me three favors after this. These favors can be called at any time, and can be anything. If you break the contract by refusing a favor, bad things would happen to you, are we clear?" I nodded. Marie stretched out her hand that was not holding the cards. "Let's shake on it."

As I reached for Marie's hand, she suddenly grabbed me by the forearm. I gasped in surprise as my forearm burned as if someone had branded it with a white hot piece of metal. By the time Marie let go, a pattern of three inscribed squares was branded onto the inside of my right forearm.

"This is my sigil. It holds enough power for you to fill this world with fog for a week's time, so don't waste it. It's also proof of your debt to me, and once you have repaid all three favors it'll disappear by itself." Marie explained, handing the Skill Cards to me, which I placed in my jacket pocket. This transaction was going pretty smoothly.

 _'A bit too smoothly…'_ Eubuleus cautioned. A sentiment that I agreed with.

"Not that I'm not grateful… but even considering the three favors that I now owe you, you seem to be awfully nice in this deal… Even giving me a whole week's worth of Fog when I only request a single day." I remarked warily. "Is there a reason for this?" To my surprise, a small blush went across Marie's face.

"WhatdoyoumeanI'mtooniceyoustupidjerkface-" Marie started rambling, only to stop and take a deep breath to calm herself. "What do you mean I'm 'awfully nice'?! Can't I just be a nice and generous Goddess without people doubting me?! I swear you mortals are getting more ungrateful as time goes by…" As the Goddess was ranting, I found my eyes drifting downwards to her bag and wide collection of baubles hanging from it. A glint from the hanging collection caught my eye.

"Wait… Marie, is that one of Sho's combat knives?" At my question, Marie's face flushed bright crimson.

"What?! Why would I have that jerkface's combat knife mindyourowndamnbusiness-" Ignoring Marie's embarrassed tirade, I peered closely at the marked combat knife hanging on her bag in the middle several accessories.

"Yeah… no doubt about it… that's the mark on the pommel that Sho leaves on all his weapons. This is one of Sho's knives… and he never loses a knife." I wondered out loud. "He was just bragging to me a week or two ago about how he never lost a throwing knife, even during the P-1 Grand Prix… So what is that doing here…?"

"STUPIDJERKFACEIHATEYOUIHOPEYOUGODIE!" With that final shout, Marie, still blushing furiously, disappeared within a flash of blinding light. I blinked a few times, regaining my vision, before smirking to myself as I (finally) placed two and two together.

 _Sho, my boy… growing up and making friends by himself. You make your big bro proud…_ Snickering slightly, I found my hand stroking against the sigil branded onto my forearm. _Three favors to Marie, huh? I guess as far as Gods and Goddesses go, there are far worse candidates to owe favors to…_

 _Sure hope it's worth it by the end…._

* * *

A/N:Well... I wonder what's going on between those two, eh? :D

Alright, two things: first, while it does seem unlikely, Sho and Marie being friends is not impossible. I got the idea from this other fic, called "The Goddess and The Wannabe God", written by Lillithrose. I think it's pretty well written, so you can check it out if you want. Warning though: That fic ends in the largest cliffhanger in history, and I don't think that is ever gonna get resolved. Just so you know.

Second, it seems like I am absolutely terrible at judging how long fics would be. Last time I said it would be 3 chapters max, but now it looks like it's gonna be around the length of 5 chapters or so. I dunno, but that's good news for you guys right? I think next up would be a prep montage and more fluff, so if you're impatient for action leave a review and I'll see what I can do about it.

Anyways, please R&R, and I'll see you next update!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I only own the OC.

* * *

 _25 days left, Strega Suite_

"So Marie has given her blessings for me to flood the TV world with Fog during my fight with Margaret. She was also nice enough to provide me with the modifications I asked for." I recounted to the rest of Strega. "So… all in all this leaves us with 20 days plus change to set the rest of the plan in motion."

"What did Marie ask for? I don't believe she would grant this kind of favor to you just for goodwill, especially given your past…" Elizabeth asked. Sho remained oddly silent at the question.

"Nothing we have to worry about until after Margaret is dealt with." I brushed off the question, absently mindedly stoking Marie's sigil, branded onto my forearm. "You're sure that absolutely nothing I can conceive of would bring lasting harm onto Margaret?"

"Yes, I am sure of it. The Velvet Room anchors all its residents in its own stream of reality. So as long as Margaret doesn't leave the Velvet Room like I did, she is truly immortal as long as the Velvet Room still exists." Elizabeth answered, hugging herself slightly. "This is the second reason why I cannot stand up to her the way that I used to. I no longer have the Velvet Room providing anchor for my existence." I placed a hand on the elevator attendant's shoulder in comfort before turning my attention back onto the map spread out onto the coffee table.

"Fair enough. I would hate to accidentally kill your sister due to believing her immortal. Sho, you're sure about the accuracy of this map?" Across me, the punster nodded.

"Yeah, I've been messing around in the TV world for a couple years at this point. I know that world like the back of my hand." I smiled slightly before looking up once more.

"Alright then. There's a lot to do in the next 20 days. Sho, you'll accompany me in all preparation needed in the TV World." Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, only for me to cut her across. "Sorry Elizabeth, but your aura is too strong, too distinctive, and presumably too familiar to Margaret. Even assuming that Margaret would do nothing for the next month but sit on the top of Heaven waiting for me, I still don't want her sensing your aura and, by extension, any hint of my plan. Sho and I are much more suited for covert operations than you are. But I'm not leaving you out though. There's still a lot to be done in the real world and Dark Hour as well, so you'll help me there. Please?" Elizabeth hesitated for a few seconds before nodding tentatively. I smirked and placed my hand on top of hers.

"It'll be okay. If Project Prometheus, the Shadow Operatives, and Chaos all failed to kill me, Margaret won't be able to either." Elizabeth smiled tightly at my reassurances.

"But you've been defeated many times by all three, haven't you? If you're defeated by Margaret, it'll mean that I have to return with Margaret." My eyes narrowed at the thought.

"Death would come first."

"That's what I'm worried about." The elevator attendant whispered. I grit my teeth silently.

…

"Goddammit you two, get a friggin' room. I'm not a big fan of drama." Sho's voice broke the silence, ruining the moment for both of us. Getting up with a sigh, the punster stretched slightly before leaving the common room. Before leaving, he turned around once more and smiled at Elizabeth. "Don't worry about Caius, Liz. If Margaret did snuff the lights out on our witless leader, chances are he'll stab Death as soon as they turn their back on him and forcibly drag himself back into his own body. He's way too stubborn and annoying to stay dead."

And with that, Sho left the room. Elizabeth let out a tiny chuckle before resting her head on my shoulder. I shifted my body so that her head was resting on my chest instead, and closed my eyes, focusing upon her breathing. We stayed like that in silence for a while, before I broke the silence.

"Look Elizabeth, I can't promise what would, or would not, happen. Margaret… She scares me. She may be the biggest foe I've had to face alone in my life. But I won't be truly _alone_ , even if I don't have Social Links to support me the same way you do. My plan would only work if I have friends and companions to help push it along. And without my plan, I would never even prove an annoyance to someone at Margaret's caliber." I talked slowly, weighing my words before sending them out. "So… either way, we'll fight together. Before that, we'll prepare together, and have fun together, right up until the fight starts. And once the fight starts, we'll fight knowing that we have put in our all. Sounds good?"

Elizabeth still looked unconvinced, but nodded nonetheless. I laid back and closed my eyes, trying to focus once more on elevator attendant's breathing.

 _'She knows that you're just placating her…'_ Eubuleus remarked.

 _'And I know that she's just nodding her head to placate me. And she knows that as well…. It'll have to do for now. Who knows how long we'll be together. I'll take whatever form of strained peace that I can.'_ To that, Eubuleus had no response.

* * *

 _24 days left, Midnight Channel, Secret Laboratory, B10 floor_

"Whoo! Haven't been in this place for a long time." Sho looked around in mild interest. "Since there's not a lot of Shadows here, I don't really come around."

"Of course there's not a lot of Shadows here." I replied absentmindedly. "They were all slaughtered by my Shadow a year ago. Every single one. Add that to the fact that this place is perpetually locked unless someone activates the switches, it's no wonder the Shadow population never regrew around here."

"Oh, wow. Why don't I ever remembering that happening?"

"Minazuki was in charge back then." I replied softly. Walking over to a particular part of the floor, right next to the giant monitor, I tapped it with my toe. "And here, if memory serves, was where I regained Eubuleus. By biting my own Shadow on the neck, no less."

"Huh, right next to the monitor, right? Must've been a megabyte!" Sho cackled with delight and I face-palmed. "In all honesty though, why wasn't I awake for this? I follow Narukami and his lame group of friends for a whole year, and nothing half as cool as that happens! How did it taste?"

"Absolutely disgusting. Like putrid flesh soaked in too much ink." I replied, turning towards the monitor. Behind me, Sho made a mock retching noise, which I smirked to. "It was the worst aspect of me that was given life by this world. What did you expect, filet mignon?"

As I spoke, I sat down in front of the giant monitor, sifting through scattered memories that belonged to my Shadow while he was rogue. Eubuleus was compliant, but the memories were still a mess, since neither of us really knew how to arrange foreign memories into a proper readable format. Nor did we think that necessary until recently.

 _'Apparently Minazuki knows how to do that.'_ Eubuleus spoke up.

 _'Isn't he the true soul of Tsukuyomi? Why don't you ask him how to do it?'_ As I bantered with Eubuleus, I flinched every now and then as another stray image of my Shadow dismembering other Shadows flashed before my eyes.

 _'I did, and he tried explaining. However, it seems like one of those doable but unexplainable things, like riding a bike. Nobody can explain it but once you get it you can do it.'_

 _'Fair enough…'_ An image of my Shadow tapping rapidly on the very keyboards I'm standing in front of flashed before my eyes. _'Ah… there we go…'_

Following the stream of memories, my fingers danced along the keyboards as well. A map of the entire laboratory was displayed on the monitor. A few more taps of the keyboard resulted in the ventilation system being completely shut down, and a lockdown sequence being placed on standby. Sho whistled slightly next to me.

"Wow, you actually pulled it off… I didn't think you were a tech person…"

"I'm not. Back in the old Strega, tech was Jin's thing, not mine. I happen to have a Shadow that enjoyed pressing random buttons while waiting for me to catch up with him. I just had to sift through a ton of badly organized memories to get the instructions manual for this place." Shaking my head, I turned back to Sho. "Pass me one of those packs."

"Aye aye Captain." Sho tossed me a giant pack, which I caught and slung over my shoulder. The punster was shouldering his own load as well.

"Let's go. We have a lot to do and I want to get out of here before the air gets too stagnated."

* * *

 _20 days left. Tokyo (Dark Hour)_

I clutched my head in pain as Elizabeth watched on the side. The pulsing on the back of my head intensified as Eubuleus made another attempt to tear his way out of my mind. The pain was almost unbearable… yet quite familiar in many ways.

 _'Really brings you down memory lane, doesn't it?'_ Out of the corner of my eye, a ghostly image of Adachi appeared from the corner of my eye, quickly morphing into an image of Takaya. _'Wouldn't it have been easier for you to have learned it alongside me when we first escaped from the Ergo Labs?'_

"Shut it Takaya. I don't need your bullshit right now." I forced through gritted teeth, Eubuleus tearing his way slowly but surely through my mind. Takaya's ghostly image wavered for a bit, before being replaced by the smug image of Watanabe.

 _'So… you end up doing this to yourself after all… then why did you even bother to escape from my facility? So much resources lost for nothing…'_ I snarled as the smug little man shook his head in mock sorrow.

"I would kill you just for kicks, you know that right, Watanabe?" I growled out. "Too bad that accepting my own Shadow didn't actually erase you from my mind…"

 _'Just as insolent as ever… I am the nightmare that haunts you. The only way you will be rid of me is when you encounter another nightmare that can replace me.'_ Watanabe lamented mockingly, before smirking once more. _'But to be honest, I really can't be mad. After all, I get the front row seat of your current suffering…"_

"Well fuck you toooooaAAAAARRRRGGGGGRRRRR!" With a wild scream, the last mental restraints within my mind were torn wide enough for Eubuleus to force his way out. I collapsed to my knees as Eubuleus tore his way out of my mind, standing in front of me in his full bloody glory. After a few second, my Persona faded away as I fell backwards, only to be caught by Elizabeth once more.

"How do you feel?" While there was concern in her voice somewhere, the elevator attendant sounded mostly intrigued. I managed to force a smirk out from behind my raging headache.

"Not that bad…" Elizabeth looked unconvinced, and she wasn't the only one.

 _'You bloody liar…'_ Eubuleus grumbled from the back of my head. _'Why don't we wait a bit before trying that again?'_

 _'Sure, sure. But next time I want to make it smoother. And potentially get rid of all that screaming as well._

 _'Your problem bub.'_

* * *

 _17 days left. Midnight Channel, Twisted Shopping District._

With a grunt, I dropped the massive barrel of gasoline into the corner of the liquor store, where a pile of other similar barrels also lay. Beside me, Sho did the same thing before leaning over the counter in exhaustion.

"I… think that was all the gas we can siphon from the pump station there…" Sho gasped slightly, sweat. "Why do Shadows even _need_ a pump station? I mean seriously, there's not cars here, they really _auto_ know better…"

"Your quality of puns is decreasing, Sho. They're becoming lamer by the second…" I commented, wiping the sweat off my brow and looking through the shelves of the liquor store. A particular bottle caught my eye. "Hmm… Mori Ranmaru Shochu… isn't this the most prized drink that the Konishi liquor store stocks?" Sho eyed the bottle as well.

"Yeah… I think the Konishi's have exclusive rights to sell it from the brewery that produces it… Might be the only reason why they're still in business after Junes moved into Inaba."

"Might as well then. Not every day you find one of those…" Picking up the bottle, I popped the lid open before fetching two glasses from behind the counter. Sho eyed the bottle warily. "What? I've been eating random shit I've found in Tartarus since I was 12, and I'm guessing you've had a few odd munchies here and there when traveling the TV world as well."

As I spoke, I poured out two glasses of the legendary sake and passed one to Sho. Despite his misgivings, the punster accepted the cup and took a sip. Leaning against the counter, I drank deeply from my cup. As slightly sweet and sour taste of the cold sake swirled through my mouth, I instantly felt the alcohol taking effect.

"Wow… this thing is strong…" Sho commented after draining his glass. Silently agreeing with him, I filled both our cups again. Placing the bottle back onto the counter, I leaned over to Sho as he picked up his glass once more.

"Sho… now that Elizabeth isn't here, there's a favor I need to ask that she should not know about." The punster glanced up at me with a curious look. "How much of Hi-no-katgusuchi's power do you still retain?"

"Quite a bit. Would cause me a headache to do anything even near the level of the P-1 Grand Prix though… I don't have Hi-no-katgusuchi's reserves."

"Well… there's a third phase to my plan that I didn't tell you guys about back in the common room… And whether it works or not kinda depends on you…" I told Sho the third part of my plan. After hearing the plan, the punster's face was a mask of disbelief.

"Wow… you're even more off the rocker than I thought…"

"It's the final contingency. More of a desperation plan rather than anything I expect to use. Can you do it or not?"

"If I risk the biggest headache ever? Yeah, I can pull it off. Most likely. But it'll cost you though." Sho smirked. "I'll do it if you let me do the killing for 5 contracts." It was my turn to be incredulous.

"Jesus Christ Sho, how much do you really want to spill blood? 3 contracts, and you get my cut of the fees for the next contract." Sho considered for a bit, and then nodded his head.

"Alright. Sounds fair."

"And one more stipulation." Sho's eyes narrowed as he carefully sipped his sake.

"What?"

"Use the extra money to take Marie out somewhere nice for a date." I leant back and enjoyed the show as the punster choked and spluttered on his sake.

* * *

 _15 days left. Tokyo Public Park_

I sprinted between the trees, taking care to make frequent turns in order to confound my pursuer. My heart was pounding painfully, and my mouth felt dry as sand as it gasped for air to support my movements. Doing a sharp turn around a tree trunk, I sprawled and flattened myself against the ground, hiding within the bushes. As my breathing slowly stabilized, I peered around the tree trunk.

 _Did I lose her-?_

Before the thought even crossed my mind, the full weight of a certain elevator attendant landed on my back, flattening me even more and driving all the air out of my lungs.

"Gotcha!" Elizabeth announced with a sing song voice. Resting her chin on my shoulders, the elevator attendant hummed contently as I struggled to catch my breath.

"A… simple… tag… would've been fine…"

"Aww… but where's the fun in that?" Elizabeth pouted slightly, before placing a sports drink in front of me. With the weight of the elevator attendant still pinning me down, I can only stare at the drink sullenly while listening to Elizabeth open hers. After a while, she seems to notice that I haven't touched my drink. "Why aren't you drinking?"

"Well… maybe… it might be because… someone's sitting on my back, stopping me from breathing properly?!" I wheezed out. At that, Elizabeth hopped off with a small squeak and a sheepish smile, finally allowing me to sit up and pick up my drink. As I drank deeply, Elizabeth sat at the side, occasionally sipping at her own drink. After finishing my own, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

 _Still not quite enough…_

At that thought, my gaze slid over and focused on Elizabeth's drink, which was still half full. Apparently sensing the greed in my eyes, the elevator attendant tightened her grip on the bottle while eyeing me warily.

"Don't even think about it." She cautioned. I groaned slightly.

"C'mon Liz... I'm dying here, can't you spare me a few sips?"

"No you are certainly not dying at the moment, at least not in any significant sense of the word." Elizabeth retorted. "You're just greedy, so you can very well get your own extra drink."

"Very well…" I conceded defeat, standing up and stretching slightly. My breathing has already stabilized, and my limbs were no longer screaming in pain. Given the current condition, I might even be able to sprint for a little bit longer. I smirked slightly as I looked over to Elizabeth once more. The elevator attendant seemed to have lowered her guard, and has returned to slowly sipping her drink.

I took a step towards the vending machine, and then did a sideways stumble, losing my balance and slightly bumping into Elizabeth. The elevator attendant flinched as I bumped into her, then looked at me confusedly as I muttered a rushed apology and walked away. Her confusion quickly turned into surprise and annoyance as she noticed that the sports drink that was in her hands had mysteriously disappeared, and that said sports drink was being casually sipped at by me.

 _Seems like my early days as a street urchin weren't wasted…_

"Wha- Hey! That's mine!" I smiled slightly as the elevator attendant scrambled back onto her feet and lunged at me. Lightly dancing to the side, I allowed Elizabeth's lunge to glance off me, although she did manage to grab onto the sports drink in the process. Turning around, the elevator attendant gave me a smug look as she took a long drink from the bottle. I sighed and shrugged.

"Damn! Foiled again… I guess I'll just have to buy a new one then…" Saying, that, I raised up a velvet blue purse from under my sleeve, watching in amusement as Elizabeth gave herself a quick pat down only to realize she was missing her purse. As she came to the realization, I had already spun on my heels and started sprinting towards the vending machine. "I'll be right back!"

"Why you…!" I laughed out loud as Elizabeth started chasing after me again.

* * *

 _10 days left. Midnight Channel. Desolate Bedroom_

I stood in the middle of the desolate bedroom, staring quietly at the scarf noose hanging morosely from the ceiling. I can hear Sho shifting around behind me, impatient.

"Thanks for showing me the way here Sho, but you don't really need to stay. This is something that I have to do alone."

"You sure?" Seeing me nod, the punster shrugged and turned around. "This place was giving me the creeps anyway. I'll be hunting Shadows outside if you need me." And with that, Sho left the room, leaving me alone.

I closed my eyes, and allowed instinct to take over. This place… it was formed not only from the last thoughts of Mayumi Yamano, but also from the immense despair, emptiness, and misanthropy of Adachi. And within my persona, lays one of the final traces of Adachi's existence.

Without thinking, I walked over towards the sliding windows of the bedroom, raising my right hand in the process. A swirling portal opened from the point of contact, revealing a warped version of Inaba within. Urged on by the old memories of Magatsu-Izanagi, I walked through the portal and started walking through the desolate landscape. Despite the entire landscape being painted in blood and Shadows trailing my every step, I felt a strange sense of serenity.

This was _his_ home. It was _his_ domain. And now, it's mine.

 _It's just too bad…_ I mused, stopping myself right before a giant hole on the ground. Looking down, one can only see swirling fog leading downwards endlessly, with the shapes of massive Shadows appearing in and out.

 _'Adachi… let me borrow your power and domain one more time…'_ Murmuring a silent prayer, I stepped off the ledge and allowed myself to fall into the void below…

 _One hour later…_

I met Sho outside. The punster was absentmindedly killing off some Shadows to pass time, but sheathed his swords at the sight of me. At his feet lay two large backpacks.

"Everything work out fine?" I nodded at Sho's question.

"Yeah. Let's move on, we still have to hit the studio before we leave." I replied, heaving one of the heavy packs onto my shoulders as we left.

* * *

 _5 days left. Tokyo (Dark Hour)_

I grit my teeth as the pulsing behind my eyes sharply intensified into a migraine. Keeping a hand over my head, my eyes snapped open wide as I stifled a scream, my mind's gate opening wide once more. A ghostly afterimage of Eubuleus appeared behind me, and the Shadow in front of us screamed as it was encased in a thick block of ice, before being shattered to countless pieces.

Staggering slightly, I managed to regain my balance and maintain upright through the pain. Warm hands touched my back, and with a smile I allowed Elizabeth to support my weight as I sagged backwards. Even as I allowed the elevator attendant to lay my head on her laps, something wet was flowing from my eyes.

 _Am I… crying…?_

Reaching up, I wiped the tears off with the back of my hand, only to find the entire back of my hand painted scarlet. I was weeping _blood_. After staring at my bloodied hand for a while with mild interest, I dismissed the issue from my mind.

 _As far as covertly summoning a Persona goes, I suppose this is the closest I would get. Now-_

"Caius. I need to tell you something." Elizabeth's voice broke through my thoughts. The elevator attendant was speaking barely louder than a whisper. "A month ago, I claimed that I was worried that you would die before submitting to Margaret. Actually… that's not exactly true…

"You are a man who walks the thin line between good and evil, life and death, and thus you're willing to bargain the lives of countless innocents in order to live a life you desire. This dogged desire to live under your own rules, regardless of the cost, is also what initially drew me to you. However, other people may not be as appreciative of this aspect of your personality.

"I am not so naïve to believe that you have told me the entirety of your plan to fight Margaret. Nor would I insult both of us by trying to coerce you into revealing it to me. This is simply who you are, exactly who I decided to become friends with, and draw strength from." With a hint of guilt, I recalled the third part of my plan that was privy only to Sho and I. If she noticed my thoughts, Elizabeth showed no sign of doing so.

"But what I truly fear… is that some aspect of your plan may enrage Margaret so that she actively seeks your death, instead of merely your defeat… If that happens, I truly don't know what-" Elizabeth's speech was cut short as I snaked my hand into hers, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry. Margaret would find that while it's relatively easy to fend me off, it's significantly harder to snuff me out." I said with a smirk, blood still flowing from my half closed eyes. Elizabeth smiled, and didn't respond.

My reassurances sounded hollow to both of us. But it was all we got at the moment.

* * *

 _The day before. Midnight Channel_

I stood at the top of one of the hills in the TV world, watching the sun slowly set over the horizon. A smooth breeze caressed my face, and in a distance Shadows wandered around idyllically, marked out by the orange hue that the setting sun painted everything in.

 _'It looks nothing like a world that claimed so many lives…'_ Eubuleus remarked. _'But then again you can say that about the physical world as well…'_

"Really puts it into perspective, doesn't it?" I murmured. "How this bloody hunting ground of ours may very well be an idyllic homeland for others…"

"Tch… if I knew you were gonna get all philosophical, I wouldn't have come here." The voice of the punster came up from behind me. Turning around, I saw Sho lying lazily on the grassy hills, a dry blade of grass sticking out of his mouth and his arm covering his eyes. At the side, Elizabeth was floating absentmindedly and flipping through her grimoire. On the ground was a large blanket, upon which rested the remnants of our picnic dinner.

"Sure, sure…" I agreed good naturedly. "Why don't you guys take a look at the view? It's not gonna last that long." With a smile, Elizabeth floated over to my side, while Sho stayed where he was.

"I've watched it every other day for year… it's getting a bit tiring. Guess I'll pass…" Sho answered, not removing his arm from his eyes. I traded a sad smile with Elizabeth before looking back at the sunset.

"You do you…" With an unspoken agreement, the three of us remained silent as the sun slowly crawled under the horizon. I let out a long sigh as the last shades of sunlight disappeared, leaving the TV world under the thrall of darkness.

 _'Hey Eubuleus…'_

 _'Hmm?'_

 _'Do you think that was our last…?'_

 _'Nobody knows right? But if it was, is there any better company to experience it with?'_ Turning my head to a side, I swept my gaze from Sho, still lying on the grass with his eyes covered, to Elizabeth, who was floating idly and has resumed flipping through her grimoire after the sun has set. This… is the new Strega. The Strega that I had gathered, who had survived the destruction of Chaos and the freeing of the Great Seal with me.

 _'No… there is none better…'_

I closed my eyes, as my irises rotated within themselves, turning into the bright neon color of Ameno Sagiri. A thin layer of mist emitted from my body, and I felt the borrowed power from Izanami no Mikoto stirring within the sigil branded on my arm.

" **Bewildering Fog** …" With that command, the power the Goddess rushed through me, using me as the instrument of their doings. Jerking upright, I opened my mouth and a massive surge of fog rushed out. The misty serpent coiled in the air once, before rushing down onto the plains and scattering throughout the world, covering everything in a thick fog. After the power rush faded, I staggered, but regained by balance before Elizabeth can catch me again. Looking up, I spared a final glance at the fog covered landscape before turning around.

"Let's pack up and get some rest… tomorrow's gonna be a busy day…"

* * *

A/N: PREP MONTAGE! Hopefully it wasn't boring for any of you... But either way, starting next chapter everything will start speeding up, so brace yourselves!

As always, please R&R and I'll post the next chapter in a week or sooner! :D


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I only own the OC

* * *

 _Midnight Chanel. Heaven_

Margaret was waiting for me as promised, floating idly in place and flipping through her grimoire. At the sounds of Heaven's gates opening for me, the secretary looked up at me and smiled slightly. Taking comfort in the weight of my lupara on my belt, I approached her.

"I always wondered where Elizabeth got the habit of floating in midair while reading." I commented, hitting out a few tense spots on my shoulder. "Now I know. After all, you are sisters." Margaret's smile grew slightly wistful at my comment.

"Yes. There was a time when she would follow me wherever I went and copied my every move. But alas, these days are over. Now my foolish sister wouldn't even return to the Velvet Room with me after her quest has come to an end." The secretary shook her head slightly. "But banter about family is not the point of this meeting, now is it? I see you have been quite busy in the past month, even flooding this world with fog once more. I assume this means you are ready for the battle."

"I suppose you're right about that." I conceded reluctantly, drawing my lupara and evoker from their holsters. Unfolding her legs, Margaret up righted herself so that she was floating vertically instead. From within her grimoire, a few dozen tarot cards flew out and swarmed around her like a flock of dove, while the grimoire itself floated next to her like a giant hawk.

"I am She Who Presides over Power. Please fight me with the full intention of killing me. To do anything less than that would be nothing short of insulting." Margaret intoned, spreading her hands apart as tarot cards swirled around her. "Perhaps within this battle you may show me the power within your soul, and the reason why my foolish sister would continue to forsake her duties in the Velvet Room…"

"I have no power… at least none that would hold a candle to even the weakest of the Wild Cards, not to mention an Avatar of Power such as yourself…" I tucked the barrel of the evoker against the bottom of my chin, a maniac smile slowly growing along my face as I spoke. "What I do have though… is the endless will to live by my own terms… and I will let NOTHING stand in the way of that, not God, the Devil, nor YOU!" As my words fell, I squeezed the trigger of my evoker, and Eubuleus tore his way from my mind.

" **Jester's Privilege!** " As I felt power rush through my body, I charged at Margaret with a snarl. The secretary seemed momentarily taken back by the sudden de-buff, before smiling slightly and raising her hand. At her unspoken command, a swarm of tarot cards streaked towards me like angry hornets.

Letting go of my own body, I allowed Angelic Grace to take control, launching myself up in a somersault over the secretary's head. With Eubuleus taking care of the dodging, I was free to take aim at Margaret with my lupara. Locked within my sights, the Empress smiled serenely. As I squeezed both triggers of the shotgun, the sound of a Persona summoning can be distinctly heard.

"Your fate is in the cards." A samurai clad in crimson armor appeared above Margaret, deftly deflecting my slug shots with his sword. I briefly locked eyes with the Persona, Elizabeth's description of it passing through my ears.

 _Yoshitune, the master of the blade. Margaret's Persona of choice for physical attack… which means…_ As the thought crossed my mind, I swiftly shifted the lupara horizontal, forming a makeshift barrier between me and the Persona. And not a moment too soon.

" **Hassou Tobi**."

The eight slashes of Yoshitune crashed against my gun, forcing it into my chest and send me flying backwards uncontrollably. Smashing against one of Heaven's pillars, I coughed up a few droplets of blood before dropping back onto the ground. Through the haze of my pain, I saw the Samurai Persona sheath his katana with a slight flourish, a smile on his lips, before dematerializing.

 _Goddamn show-off… should punch him in the face to wipe that bloody smirk off…_ I slowly crawled my way back to my feet. _Thank god I reinforced the barrel of the lupara last year… or else…_ As the thoughts paced sluggishly through my mind, Margaret snapped her grimoire once more, summoning another Persona in a glow of blue light.

Out of the glow stepped another warrior dressed in red, only this one was dressed in a boiled leather jerkin. Under his cap, tufts of blonde hair stuck out, while in his hand he held an ornate long-sword. My eyes widened with recognition.

 _Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer. Margaret's Persona of choice for flame attacks. Preferred spell…_

" **Ragnarok.** " Forcing my body to move, I managed to roll to one side just as the flaming meteor summoned by Siegfried struck the spot where I was standing. A wave of smoke billowed over me as the blazing projectile exploded, the smell of sulfur permeating through the air. Seeing that I had dodged the attack, Margaret let out a small laugh.

"You're quite a slippery one. Good, this may make it more interesting… Dodge this!" As the secretary splayed her fingers apart in a dramatic display, Siegfried twirled his sword a few times before stabbing it towards the ground.

" **Prominence**." From the ground where the tip of Siegfried's sword touched, a fiery inferno swarmed out and moved to engulf the battlefield. I hissed slightly at the sight.

' _First Amagi's Burning Petals, now this Prominence… Why can't people just settle for normal spells for their attacks?!'_ I complained to Eubuleus, who chuckled grimly. As we spoke, angelic grace grasped my limbs, launching me upwards and allowing me to running vertically up the pillar as the sea of flames washed over the base of the pillar like a wave crashing on the shore. Reaching the top of the pillar, I flipped over and landed on the top, just to see a blue-skinned man floating cross legged in front of Margaret, his bat wings folded comfortably, a smug smirk on his face.

 _Loki, the Norse Trickster God. He's the one Margaret calls upon for ice attacks… which means the direction of the next attack would be…_

" **Cocytus Pain**." As the trickster god snapped his fingers, I looked upwards to see countless icicles form from above and hurl themselves in my direction. As the icicles fell, I glanced slightly at my evoker and then Margaret.

 _'As tempting as that might be, it'll screw up everything…'_ Eubuleus cautioned. _'Unless you're confident in taking her out with one strike?'_

 _'No… that would be stupid.'_ I agreed reluctantly as Eubuleus steered my body through several consecutive back flips, avoiding the shower of ice projectiles. As I landed back on my feet in a different pillar, I heard another snap of Loki's fingers.

" **Nifheim**." Jerking my head upwards, my eyes widened as a large pillar of ice hurtled down towards me.

 _'You're flat-footed. No amount of Angelic Grace would steer you clear of this one.'_ Eubuleus stated flatly, his voice tense.

 _'As expected from an Avatar of Power. In that case…'_

" **Atom Smasher** rrraAAARRRGGGHHH!" My command turned into a pained scream as a full blown migraine blossomed from behind my eyes. Tearing his way through my brain, Eubuleus swung his blade as countless violet energy slashes converged upon the icy pillar summoned by the trickster god, shattering it into countless tiny shards. As Eubuleus faded away, I staggered slightly before wiping off the blood tears in my eyes. Margaret was appraising me with a small smile.

"You claim you have no power, but the strength of your will is already shining through." The Empress stated with interest. "Now I'm slightly intrigued…"

"Are you here to talk, or are you here to FIGHT!?" With a roar, I released a massive wave of fog, my eyes itching as my pupils rotated within themselves, turning into a brilliant neon color. "Eubuleus! **Nebula Occulus**!"

Eubuleus tore his way out from my mind and raised his marionette cross, shooting a giant beam of light towards Margaret. The secretary merely smiled.

"Do forgive me my idiosyncrasies." Margaret replied calmly, her tarot cards forming a cone in front of her, dispersing my attack effortlessly. "Ever since my guest's fateful year in Inaba has passed, I've yet to meet an opponent who can't be taken down within three spells. I believe I'm starting to enjoy this… so please, do remain standing for a bit longer…"

As she spoke, Margaret's grimoire snapped once more, and from within the summoning aura stepped another young samurai. Unlike Yoshitune though, the armor of this Persona was bright silver, and he carried his katana on his back. I narrowed my eyes, recalling Elizabeth's words once more.

… _This one should be… Okuninushi, Ruler of Izumo. Affinity… Lightning._ As those words crossed my mind, Okuninushi raised his katana high and let out a mighty roar. At his command, thunderclouds formed above Heaven's peak, bursts of lightning sparking through the sky. Narrowing my eyes, I stared at the thunder clouds, slowly timing the rhythm of the lightning sparks as I reloaded my lupara.

" **Jihad**." As Margaret's voice gave the command, countless bolts of lightning rained down from the sky. At the same time, I leapt off my perch on the top of the pillar and held my breath as I flew through the air. Aiming my lupara downwards at Margaret, I squeezed both triggers.

 **Garula gem**. An impressive tempest flew out from the barrels of my shotgun and flew towards Margaret, the recoil propelling me further upwards. Tearing my eyes off the secretary, I focused on keeping calm as I flew through the air with countless streaks of lighting arching around me. After a second, the lightning died down. Immediately after that, I landed on the ground, unharmed.

Looking up, I saw a spearman adorned in silver armor standing in front of Margaret, apparently having just protected her from my wind spell. The secretary herself was floating idly behind the Persona, looking thoroughly amused.

"I have read from books that electricity can only harm you if you're connected to Earth… Never did think that it was also applicable to electric spells…" Margaret mused to herself in a low voice. "I wonder why my own floating doesn't protect me… maybe because my own levitation magic acts as a conduit for electricity between me and the ground…?"

I waited as she rambled on, taking deep breathes to stabilize my heartbeats. As I studied the silver spearman standing in front of Margaret, memories Elizabeth's voice rang in my ears once more.

 _Cu Chulainn, the Defender of Ulster. My sister's favorites when she needs some wind. She did have quite a thing for Personas who were once handsome young men…_

 _'Wind huh? Then somersaulting in the air would be a bad idea this time around…'_ Eubuleus commented. I silently agreed, quickly reloading my lupara before drawing my dagger from its sheath. The slither of metal apparently caught the attention of Margaret, who simply chuckled and dismissed her Persona with a wave of her hand. I looked at the secretary and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Cu Chulainn wouldn't be able to do much right now. If I have him cast a wind spell, you would simply dig your dagger into the ground and lay low until the wind died down. If I am to send him forth to attack you physically… what good would that do, where Yoshitune failed?" Seemingly pleased with my shocked expression, Margaret caught one of the floating tarot cards around her, placing it within the pages of her grimoire. "Instead… I propose we take a closer look at how you would fare against pure, unadulterated power…."

As her words fell, the grimoire snapped shut, crushing the tarot card within. A giant vortex erupted from behind her, fading away to reveal a massive horned angel with three pairs of wings. As the massive Persona appeared, a divine light temporarily repelled the fog in the vicinity.

"I believe Elizabeth has already given you a thorough introduction to all my Personas, but I feel like I should still introduce this one for formality's sake. Caius, meet Helel, the Bringer of Light." The giant Persona smiled serenely as his name was called out by Margaret. As he smiled, a swirling light of Almighty energy formed around the Persona's chest. "I'll let him do the rest of his introductions himself." Angelic Grace once more grasped my limbs and guided me into the air, preemptively trying to dodge the incoming attack. As Helel's energy orb reached its critical point, the Persona smiled gently at me.

" **Morning Star**."

As the massive orb of almighty energy hit the ground, the shockwave caught me in midair and flung me into one of the pillar. Sliding back down to the base of the pillar, I curled up on myself, choking on a mouthful of blood. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Helel fade away only to be replaced with Siegfried. The dragon slayer had a smirk on his face as he raised his sword.

" **Prominence**."

' _EUBULEUS!'_ I screamed mentally as the wave of fire approached, covering my head in my arms in a gesture of defense. The flames washed over me, singeing the edges of my clothes and filling the air with the scent of smoke and burnt flesh. From behind the smoke and flames, I glimpsed Margaret's smile…

…which turned into a frown of confusion as the flames died down, revealing that I have scrambled back onto my feet with only a few light burns. As the secretary blinked dumbly, I covertly cleaned off the handful of blood tears I had just wiped off my face, before reloading my lupara once more.

"Strange…. I was sure Narukami told me that your weakness was fire…" Margaret mused to herself as I searched clumsily through my bag with my free hand. As my hand picked out a bead from the rest of the mess in my bag, the secretary snapped her grimoire once more. Siegfried raised his sword. "Well… I guess I'll have to test some more conventional fire spells on you, just to be sure. Siegfried, if you may…"

" **Agidyne**." As the Dragon Slayer's flame approached me, I quickly popped the bread into my mouth, wincing slightly as my ribs wove themselves back together under the healing magic.

 _'Do I still have time for this, Eubuleus?'_

 _'Yeah, enough for this one. You'll have to recast after this though, if you don't want the cat out of the bag.'_

 _'Good enough for me.'_

With that thought, I rushed towards the flaming inferno with a shout, pulling the trigger of my evoker at the same time.

"PERSONA!" Margaret's eyes widened with shock as I rushed through Siegfried's fiery inferno, Eubuleus tearing his way out of my mind and pinning the Siegfried to a pillar with his giant cross. With a flourish, the Empress snapped her book once more, conjuring Cu Chulainn and Yoshitune between the two of us. Without slowing down, I raised the lupara and squeezed both triggers.

 **Megido Gem.**

A blast of Almighty energy cleared the way between me and Margaret. Narrowing my eyes, I drew my dagger and launched myself over the Empress, dodging the swarm of tarot cards she sent in my direction. Landing neatly behind her, I twirled the stiletto into an icepick grip before lunging at the back of the secretary, plunging the dagger towards her heart.

 _*clang*_

The tip of my dagger halted right before Margaret's back, halted in its place by a shining tarot card. Margaret turned around with an amused expression on her face, as Loki peered around her.

"Impressive…" As she spoke, the Trickster God snapped his fingers once more. " **Nifheim**."

A single ice pillar struck me from one side, sending me flying across Heaven's peak. Curling up into a ball, I rolled to slow my momentum before stopping myself in a low crouch. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I looked up to see Margaret inspecting me with a curious expression.

 _'Did she fall for it…?'_

And then Margaret smiled once more, and Loki snapped his fingers again with a smirk on his face.

" **Cocytus Pain.** " Angelic Grace rushed through my body once more, guiding me into countess complex flips and evasions as Eubuleus answered my question.

 _'Yeah, she totally fell for it._ "

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in the base of Heaven_

Elizabeth and Sho stood near the center of Heaven. Sho was inspecting the giant bean stalk that supported the entire dungeon, while Elizabeth glanced impatiently at the mechanical watch that Caius left with her.

"So... are you sure that we won't accidently destroy the entire dungeon if we do what Caius told us? I mean, you did tell me once that Caius destroyed the Bathhouse in a drunken fit…" Sho's voice rang up, and the elevator attendant can't help but sigh.

"Well you can hardly call that the same situation. After all, the Bathhouse was created from the ego of a single Persona user. A single ego is, after all, limited in its power. This… heaven is different though." Placing a hand onto the thick bean stalk, Elizabeth closed her eyes, sensing the power strumming throughout the area. "This place is the culmination of two egos, and one aspect of Izanami-no-Okami. As such, it is far sturdier than most of the other landmarks in this area."

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it. How long do we still have before supporting our witless leader?" Elizabeth checked the watch once more.

"If I'm not mistaken in how to read this watch, it should be around right now." Sho's eyebrows raised incredulously.

"If you not mistaken in- What? Gimme that!" Taking the watch from Elizabeth, the punster inspected the watch for a few seconds before tossing it back to Elizabeth. "Yeah, it should be right now."

Drawing both his swords, Sho walked around to stand at the other side of the bean stalk as a crimson aura slowly covered his body. Elizabeth opened her grimoire, allowing the pages to flip by themselves until Thanatos stared back up at her from within the pages.

 _'Let me borrow your power once more, Thanatos.'_

 _'As you wish, book-keeper…'_ The gravelly voice of the Death God replied. Smiling to herself, the elevator attendant pulled Thanato's card out from the pages of her grimoire before crushing it between her fingers.

"Thanatos… **Tempest Slash**." As the menacing figure of the Death God materialized in front of her, Elizabeth heard Sho's battle cry on the other side of the stalk.

" **Flare Slash**!" As the two arcs of energy crashed against the supporting bean stalk, the entire dungeon shuddered while the screams of Shadows echoed through the air. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped, and all was calm once more. Elizabeth looked up with a worried expression.

 _Was that enough, Caius…?_

The sound of metal striking against metal pulled her back to her surroundings. Sho was impatiently striking his swords against each other.

"Let's go Liz. We've done our part, and now we just need to wait for the verdict." The punster said, while sheathing his swords. "We can't really help him in any other way, unless you want to risk your sister finding out…?" A slight chill ran down Elizabeth's back at the image of an angry Margaret.

"No, you're right. Let us depart."

* * *

 _At the peak of Heaven_

 _'Shouldn't it almost be time…?'_ I wondered as I leapt over the latest barrage of icicles conjured by Loki. Eubuleus snorted in amusement.

 _'Well, at least Margaret fell for our little trick…'_

 _'We still have to keep up appearances though… one badly mimicked expression and the cat's out the bag.'_ I winced slightly as an ice pillar streaked past my face, crashing into the pillar behind me. _'However, this does take some of the heat off me…'_

 _'Was that a pun just now?'_

 _'Nope.'_

As we bantered in my mind, a sudden quake gripped Heaven's peak. With a surprised grunt, Loki dematerialized, and Margaret looked around with wide eyes as the terrified screams of Shadows erupted from all directions.

 _'NOW!'_ As Eubuleus shouted out, I sprinted towards Margaret and rammed my shoulder in the Empress, sending both of us sprawling on the floor. Before I can scramble back on my feet, I felt arms wrap tightly around my waist.

"Now what are you doing here?" Margaret's voice rang up behind my ear. Before I knew what was going on, both of us were up high in the air, head down, and plummeting faster than what was comfortable. Curling up my upper body, I managed to catch most of the fall with my upper back, spitting out a few droplets of blood from the impact. As I lay coughing on the ground, Margaret skipped back a few steps and resumed floating slightly above the ground.

 _Of course… she'd use… a flying German suplex. Because what else makes sense?!_

As I crawled back to my feet, the Empress gave a small sigh before smiling serenely at me.

"I assume that quake was the doing of my foolish sister and the third member of your team. In that case, why did you run into me instead of attacking? If you casted a spell, you might have been able to do some damage. As it is though, you've wasted the precious chance given to you by your teammates." I coughed, spitting out a final few drops of blood stuck in my air pipe before smirking at the secretary.

"No…. because now the fight is on my terms." Turning my hand over, I showed Margaret a velvet blue bookmark with spiral decorations on it that I had in my palm. Seeing the bookmark, the Empress' eyes opened in shock.

"My bookmark… how…?"

"This is one of a pair, right? The other one should be with Narukami, while this one has been hiding up your sleeve all this time. I believe this means quite a lot to you?" I smirked at the shocked secretary. "Well if you want it… then you need to first chase me down for it. **Bewildering Fog.** "

At my command, the fog thickened instantly, obscuring everything from sight as I leapt of the peak of Heaven.

* * *

Name: Caius Gevauden

Persona: Eubuleus Arcana: Death

Affinities:

Physical: Resist Fire: Weak Ice: Null Wind: - Thunder: - Light: Null Darkness: Null

Skills:

Jester's Privilege (special skill. Heat Riser + Debilitate)

Mabufudyne

Amrita

Angelic Grace

Atom Smasher

Foolish Whisper

Red Wall

Power Charge

* * *

A/N: The destruction of the bathhouse was mentioned in Chapter 32 of Merc for Hire, in case people forgot.

Also, I was wondering if I can get some feedback on the fight scene for this chapter? I realized half way into the fight scene that I have never, in all 35 chapters of Merc for Hire, ever written a 1v1 fight scene. Every fight before this had at least 3 participants to keep it fun, and I was completely caught off guard by how different the dynamics of a 1v1 fight was to write. So... some feedback would be nice :D

Please R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I only own the OC

* * *

 _Midnight Channel. Secret Laboratory  
_

I lounged on the lab chair, eyes scanning the various monitors positioned in front of me. An empty can of Tap soda lay on the desk before me, haven been drained of its contents once I stumbled into the lab and caught my breath again. As I waited, I eyed the spiral bookmark still clasped between my fingers.

 _'Such a small thing to be able to act as bait for a Goddess…'_

' _It's a memento of Narukami for her. I would guess that now there's no world ending event going on she doesn't really she him a lot…'_ Eubuleus' voice rang up in my mind.

' _I never really understood mementos myself. Seems like such a waste of space…'_

 _'They're the imprints of memories Caius. Hasn't the fight with Grandmaster showed you that?'_

 _'Of course it did… but why? Memories are meant to be kept in only two places: the mind and the heart.'_ I placed a hand over my own heart for emphasis, causing Eubuleus to chuckle. _'If those are not large enough to contain the memories that you treasure… then what good would a flimsy memento do, especially one that can be lost so easily?'  
_

 _'Why don't you ask Narukami the next time you clash swords?'_ Eubuleus suggested. I chuckled.

 _'Let's survive the night before we make plans like that.'_ A flash of velvet from the monitors caught my eye. Leaning forward, I squinted at one of the screens, barely making out the figure of Margaret within the blurry screen.

 _*BOOM*_

A massive explosion shook the entire lab as countless red warning signs popped up on the main monitor. A mechanical voice rang out from the wall speakers.

"INTRUDER ALERT, INTRUDER ALERT, PREPARING TO DEPLOY DEFENSE MECHANISMS…"

 _Oh no you don't…._ furrowing my brows, I leaned forward and started tapping rapidly on the keyboard in front of me, guided on by the memories of my shadow self. As my fingers danced upon the keyboard, the mechanical voice rang out once more.

"PLEASE CONFIRM TO DISABLE ALL DEFENSE MECHANISMS AND OPEN ALL GATES."

"Of course… and while we're at it, we might as well light a directory up for Margaret as well… after all, she is my honored guest…" I murmured to myself, tapping away at the keyboard and finalizing all components.

 _'Do you really believe that she'd walk right into this? You're making it painfully obvious that this is a trap…'_ Eubuleus questioned.

 _'Oh she would definitely figure out it's a trap. Pretty sure she already figured out that part since I swiped her bookmark.'_ Finishing configuring the lab layers, I leant back with a sigh and a smirk. _'But answer this Eubuleus…. What Goddess would be concerned about any trap laid by men?'_

 _'Fair enough…'_

* * *

 _20 min later..._

The gates to the main lab slide open, revealing the figure of Margaret standing outside. The secretary frowned slightly at the thick fog within before flipping open her grimoire.

"Cu Chulainn, **Garu**." At her command, the white armored spearman appeared in a flash, dispelling the fog with a gust of wind. I smirked slightly from my hiding spot above.

 _Can't have planned it better even if I tried…_

Perched on top of an air vent, I waited patiently as the secretary walked into the lab with confident yet cautious steps. As Margaret got closer to where I hid, a migraine started building up behind my eyes and warm blood leaked from my tear ducts as I concentrated. I clenched my teeth as I held the migraine within myself.

 _Not yet… not quite yet…. The timing has to be perfect…_

As the secretary stepped right under my hiding spot, I exhaled lightly and allowed the pain to be released from my mind, flooding the room with fog once more. Below me, I heard a long sigh of exasperation from Margaret, before the sound of flipping pages filled the air once more.

""Cu Chulainn, **Garu**." Right as the command fell, I rolled out of my hiding place and let myself fall downwards. Hearing my movements, Margaret looked up, golden eyes widening at my falling body. The grimoire in her book flipped through itself with unbelievable speed, opening itself on the page of Yoshitune.

 _Too late._

As I landed on top of Margaret, I wrapped my arms and legs tightly around her, clenching my teeth at the impact. Taking advantage of her surprise, I struck quickly around her neck with my right fist once. Before I can do anything else, a hand grabbed the back of my collar, and I was flung through the air like a doll, slamming into one the lab walls.

Sliding to the ground, I coughed up a few specks of blood. An amused chuckle brought my attention up to Margaret, who was looking at me with a smirk while Yoshitune stood by her side. The secretary let out an exaggerated sigh before placing a hand on her hip.

"Now Caius, return my bookmark and we can continue this contest on amiable terms." As Margaret spoke, Yoshitune loosened his katana with an audible sound of sharpness. "And before you threaten me with it, let me remind you that my bookmark is just as indestructible as I am, so don't try to destroy it."

"Wouldn't expect it any other way." Using the wall to support myself, I staggered upright from where I was flung onto the ground. "However, I cannot give you back the bookmark… after all, everything's working so well for me, so why should I make any concessions?"

"I… see…" Margaret replied, her eyebrows raising at my claim. "Well then, if that is your claim… Yoshitune, if you may… **Hassou Tobi**." With a smirk, the samurai crouched slightly, hand hovering above his sword. Leaning against the wall, I stared at the Persona while a maniacal smile crawled up my face. The warm blood still leaking from my eyes and mouth somehow felt…. good.

 _It's been a while since I've been close enough to death to feel so… alive._

Yoshitune's hand grasped his katana, and my smile widened as the Persona prepared to cut me down. The Persona smirked confidently-

-before collapsing, shadowy ichor flowing out of his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. As the crimson samurai slowly dematerialized, I smirked at his bloodshot, disbelieving eyes. Turning my gaze sideways, I saw Margaret was in a similar state of distress, if somewhat less pronounced. The secretary was holding onto a pillar for support, black veins crawling up the side of her neck like a dark grid.

"What…?" I smirked at Margaret's question, opening my right hand to display a slightly bent and empty syringe grasped in my palm.

"You know what this had in it? All of my remaining Persona suppressants melted into liquid form." I dropped the syringe with a shrug as Margaret breathed heavily. "I melted down enough pills to last all of the old Strega for a whole year. And now, all of it is in your circulation system. I'm quite unsure what kind of long term effects it would have towards someone of your physiology, but I'm hoping that in the short run it would weaken you and disable your Personas-"

A glint of a blade made me stop speaking, and the form of Yoshitune reappeared, blade flashing. Parrying the katana with my dagger, I locked blades with the Persona for a second before the crimson samurai grunted in pain and dematerialized. At the side, Margaret spat out a small mouthful of ichor before sagging lower towards the ground. I sighed slightly.

"I guess I was asking for too much… heh, well, it was my mistake to make any assumptions on the limitations of your power to begin with." I shrugged slightly. "Like… even now in your weakened state, I still don't think anything I do would do significant damage to you. And neither can I really let this chance go to waste either, because once you acclimate to the suppressants you would regain a certain amount of control over your Personas… which quite frankly is still a terrifying concept."

"So… what would you do then?" Even in her poisoned state, Margaret still looked intrigued. I smirked as I rummaged through my bag.

"Well, why don't you look at the base of that pillar you're holding on to? If you look closely you'll see a-" Before I can finish my sentence, angelic grace grasped my limbs and flung me into a cartwheel towards the side as Cu Chulainn's spear smashed down on the space where I was standing. As I landed, the shadow of Okuninushi covered me as the silver samurai prepared to strike.

" **Foolish Whisper**." Green mist flowed from Eubuleus' figure as both Okuninushi and Cu Chulainn dissipated. Swerving to one side, I barely avoided a velvet blur that rushed at me, revealed itself to be Margaret after smashing a crater on the wall behind me. The silenced secretary spat out another mouthful of ichor before turning her gaze back on me. I hastily pulled a Goho-M from my bag, only to see Margaret tense once more in preparation for another charge.

' _The Goho-M won't act fast enough.'_ Eubuleus cautioned. I smiled as I slipped a gem out from under my sleeve.

' _But this will.'_ As Margaret rushed at me again, I quickly crushed the gem in my hand, releasing a green aura that engulfed me.

 **Trafuri gem**.

Margaret passed by harmlessly as the gem protected me. Leaping over to the main control panel as the secretary caught her breath, I tapped rapidly at the interface before slamming my dagger down on the console, completely destroying it. The electronic voice spoke up from the speakers once more.

"WARNING: INITIATING QUARANTINE LOCK-DOWN…. COMPLETE."

As Margaret looked at the speaker in bemusement, I threw the Goho-M into the air, grinning maniacally as the transportation magic engulfed me. As the magic faded away, I was outside the Secret Laboratory, standing on a hill a safe distance away from the sealed up dungeon. Fog licked the hills as I fished a detonator out of my bag.

"I can't do anything to hurt you, Margaret…. So let's see if a live burial under a few dozen tone of concrete and rebar can do the job." With those words, I clicked down on the detonator switch, grinning like a madman as a series of muffled explosions shook the ground. With a rumbling crash, the Secret Laboratory collapsed in on itself, leaving a giant crater on the ground.

And then… silence.

' _Did we get her?'_ Eubuleus asked.

' _I don't-'_ A blast of almighty energy blasted upwards from within the rubble before I can finish my sentence, and Helel's head started poking out from underneath. _'I guess that answers your question. Time for the next location.'_ The fog thickened as I turned around towards my next destination.

" **Bewildering Fog.** "

* * *

 _Midnight Channel. Twisted Shopping District. Konishi Liquor Store._

I sat behind the counter, a glass of sake in my hand. I swirled the liquor in the glass for a few seconds before sipping at it. The sweet tasted filled my mouth as the sake burned its way down my throat.

 _'Why didn't I discover this place earlier? The booze restocks itself here and it's all free for taking…'_

 _'Sake isn't really your thing though, and this place doesn't stock whiskey.'_ Eubuleus reminded me, and I chuckled.

 _'Fair enough, but free booze is free booze…'_

At that moment, the front door to the liquor ship was flung wide open as the figure of Margaret walked in. While dark veins still crawled up her neck, the secretary was otherwise standing normally. I sighed slightly before draining my sake.

"So you've acclimated already to what amounts to an extreme OD of Persona suppressants… Now I'm even more scared." Margaret smiled at my comment.

"Don't patronize me. I doubt that even an Avatar of Power like me would strike fear in one as you." As she spoke, a red blur materialized and charged at me, only to have its katana blocked by Eubuleus' cross. I smiled as Eubuleus locked blades with Yoshitune.

"Take the goddamn compliment, Margaret. You are absolutely terrifying, and you know it." I smirked as I pointed my evoker at my temple. " **Atom Smasher**."

"I suppose I will then." Margaret smiled serenely as the violet slashes surrounded her, waving a hand as a wall of ice surrounded her, protecting her from Eubuleus' attack. Above her, Loki smirked as he snapped his fingers once more. " **Nifheim**."

I smirked as the thick pillar of ice summoned by the trickster god parted in front of me, leaving me unharmed. Margaret's eyes widened in shock at the sight of my ice immunity.

"Why-?"

" **Foolish Whisper**." Loki dematerialized as the silencing mist once more disabled Margaret's voice. I sighed slowly and fished out a pill from my bag, popping it into my mouth. After a second of chewing, I proceeded to spit out a mouthful of fake blood. "Look familiar? And yes, I'm actually immune to ice and you really should stop using spitting blood as an indicator of injury. It's too easy to fake. And now look where you've gotten yourself into: You're locked onto a Persona weak to fire, and you're stuck in a tightly enclosed space full of gasoline and alcohol. This doesn't look good for you."

Upon hearing my words, Margaret's eyes darted all over the liquor store, towards all the shattered bottles of sake on the shelves, to the leaking pile of gasoline barrels in the corner, and then to the massive pillar that blocked the only exit of the shop.

"Might I remind you that Atom Smasher is a multi-target spell? You didn't really expect me to dedicate the entire attack to just you, right? Especially since I knew that the attack would be ineffective?" Sighing dramatically, I fished a few gems out of my pocket. "Well, shall we wrap this up then? **Red Wall**."

As a red aura engulfed me, a hand tightened around my throat and I was slammed against the wall as Margaret held me by the neck. I grinned at the secretary's impassive face as I crushed the gems in my hand.

 **Agi Gem. Trafuri Gem.**

A blast of green aura pushed Margaret back as flames started licking the floor near me. Smirking at Margaret from behind the protective aura of the Trafuri gem, I tossed another Goho-M into the air, teleporting me to the roof of the gas station as the Konishi Liquor store went up in a massive explosion.

Squinting slightly, I peered intently towards the smothering ruins of the liquor store, barely managing to discern Margaret's figure walking out from the smoking building.

 _'Welp… she survives again, without half a scratch. Time to go.'_

" **Bewildering Fog.** "

* * *

 _Midnight Channel. Magatsu Inaba._

I stood at the edge of the cliff, staring off into the blood red void as I waited for Margaret to catch up. With a start, I realized I may be standing on the same spot where Adachi confronted Narukami and his team during his year in Inaba.

 _I wonder if this is how he felt when his time came during that year… Although I'm pretty sure he was feeling a tad more confident about the outcome than I am right now…_

The clicking of heels brought my attention back to my surroundings. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Margaret standing behind me, smiling despite the black veins still crisscrossed on her neck. I sighed in exasperation at the secretary's serenity.

"Margaret… I poisoned you with a year's worth of suppressants, buried you under a few tons of rubble, locked you with a Persona weak to fire and blew you up in a room full of alcohol and gasoline, and yet you stand here as if nothing has happened. You do know exactly how scary you are, right?"

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, Caius." The secretary responded with a smile. "I'm actually fairly intrigued with what you more have planned out. The way you do battle with a force greater than yourself is fairly intriguing, even more so since you lack the Wild Card's limitless potential."

"Great… so not only did everything I did fail to hurt you, it merely _intrigued_ you. Just great." I hung my head for a few seconds before another thought flashed by my mind. "So… are you gonna leave Elizabeth alone then? Since apparently you're somewhat impressed by the fight I put up…"

"Unfortunately, no. This battle is not about your worth at all, except for my personal interest in it. Elizabeth must return to the Velvet Room, since her quest to free her former guest has ended, and as of now she's wandering aimlessly. What better place to find the next step towards her own self, if not the Velvet Room?" As she spoke, the secretary flipped open her grimoire once more. "Besides, I still need my bookmark back."

As she spoke, a red blur rushed past her, and a glint of light sparked through the air as Yoshitune drew his katana.

 _*CLANG*_

Margaret blinked in surprise as a Slaughter Drive blocked Yoshitune's sword strike with its spike. I let out a low chuckle as Margaret looked around to find herself surrounded by countless powerful Shadows.

"Heh... figures. Well, I'm pretty sure you already know this, but this realm is Adachi's kingdom, and as such is passed down with his Persona to me. The Shadows here bow to my will." I glanced back towards the surround secretary. "And while you may scoff at this display of force when you're at your full strength, I suppose that in your current state even you would have some problem fending off this horde, right?"

As I spoke, the horde of Shadows surged forwards towards Margaret. The secretary merely smiled as four summoning auras lit up around her, and from the lights Loki, Cu Cthulainn, Okuninushi, and Helel stepped out to join Yoshitune in facing the Shadow army. Screams and explosions shook the cliff as the two forces met. Margaret's tinkling laugh can be heard above the sound of battle.

"So what now, Caius? The hoard of Shadows can no doubt hold me here for a while, but they wouldn't be able to defeat me." Margaret asked as she casually cut a Shadow in half with her swarm of tarot cards. "So what's your plan?"

"Have you ever wondered what oblivion feels like?" I asked casually, one hand rummaging through my bag. "How it feels when you cease to exist?"

"I don't recall ever contemplating that question… Are you going to show me the answer?"

"I'll do my best to. You know, when I said I'm master of this domain, that doesn't just mean the Shadows listen to me. This entire world listens to my command as well… including commands that tells it to disappear." I laughed as Margaret's eyes widened in surprise. "What? This realm existed as a launch pad for the end of the world, similar to how Tartarus functioned. And much like Tartarus, this place, and all the Shadows residing within it, are perfectly primed and willing to end their own existence. One could say that they only exist to end." Margaret's eyes flashed with slight interest as she slashed another Shadow in half.

"How intriguing…"

"Yes, very. So why don't we see how this works?" I agreed. "Now, **Begone**."

At my command, the cliff started shaking violently as masses of fog rushed up from the void below. Around us, the landscape of Magatsu Inaba slowly disintegrated into fog as the realm destroyed itself. Margaret beheaded another Shadow before turning around to watch the destruction with interest.

"My, my. That is quite a sight. Are you so determined to kill me that you would die with me?"

"Nah, I got my own escape plan." I pulled a Goho-M from my bag before throwing it into the air. "I'm mainly counting on the Suppressants, the Shadows, and your own sense of curiosity to keep you here while this world falls apart."

"You may be right." Margaret smiled and nodded at me curtly before looking back at the horizon. The teleportation aura engulfed me instantly after that.

* * *

From a safe distance away, I observed from binoculars as the twisted version of the Amagi Inn warped in on itself, slowly imploding into nothingness. The thick fog did nothing to impede my vision, but somehow… in this case I wished that it would.

' _Don't think too much about it Caius. This is the way Adachi would've wanted it.'_ I chuckled at Eubuleus' attempt to comfort me.

' _I suppose so. Doesn't really help me feel better though… the human mind is strange like that, wouldn't you say so?'_

' _Yeah… you think we got her?'_

' _I doubt it… wait, something's showing up…'_

From behind the fog, I observed as lines of velvet light traced through the air, forming into a large double door. As the doors opened, the figure of Margaret stepped out from within, looking as regal as ever. Squinting slightly, I noticed that the dark veins on the secretary's neck was gone, and that she was floating again instead of walking. I sighed before placing the binoculars back into my bag.

' _So not only did that fail to harm her in any significant way… it seems like the Persona Suppressants had worn out as well.'_

' _So… time for desperate contingencies...?'_ Eubuleus suggested.

' _Yeah… to Inaba then.'_

" **Bewildering Fog**."

* * *

A/N: Okay, this chapter actually flowed a lot better than I was expecting it to... I guess the three day break I gave myself before starting this really did help.

Anyways, what did you guys think of the plan? Not really conventional as far as fight scenes go, but I figured... eh, why not. It suits Caius' style.

So, please R&R, and I'll post the next chapter ASAP!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I only own the OC.

* * *

I leaned heavily against the walls of the Midnight Studio, clutching the bleeding wound against my side. Margaret floated idly in front of me, Yoshitune smirking at her side. Eubuleus stood in front of me, cross raised in a defensive pose, a maniacal smile on his face. I coughed out a few drops of blood before smiling at Margaret, who was chuckling softly.

"So… is this one more of your ploys, Caius?" The secretary asked softly, a soft smile glancing her lips. My grin widened.

"Nope… I'm honest to god coughing up blood here. Might have damaged an organ somewhere in there…" As I spoke, Margaret took a deep breath, as if she wished to draw air all the way down to her toes.

"I see… yes, the scent of blood is definitely in the air…" A slight sadistic edge entered the secretary's smile. "I wonder what you have arranged on the menu next, Caius? Surely you have something else up your sleeve?"

"Perhaps…. Why don't you try me?" Margaret's smile widened as Yoshitune drew his sword.

" **Hassou Tobi**." Eubuleus dematerialized before Yoshitune's slashes can reach him. Angelic grace grasped my limbs and flipped me upwards, barely avoiding the eight slashes of Hassou Tobi. Twisting in the air, I planted my feet on the wall I was leaning on before smirking at Margaret once more.

" **Mabufudyne**." A pillar of ice appeared under my feet, propelling me upwards towards one of the thick metal rafters on the second floor of the studio. A shake on the ice pillar prompted me to look back, seeing Yoshitune landing behind me on the ice pillar. I bared my teeth at Yoshitune as the crimson samurai grasped his katana tightly and sprinted along the ice pillar, swiftly gaining on me.

"Go back to your mistress! Without her you are nothing but a Shadow!" I roared at the Persona. Yoshitune's eyes glinted with anger as the Persona tensed to strike. I smirked.

" **Bewildering Fog**." A cloud of fog emerged from my palm, misguiding Yoshitune's sword strike in the last second. Under the cover of the fog, I leapt onto one of the steel beams holding the studio up with the ice pillar, with the samurai Persona still on it, crashed into one of the studio walls.

Still clinging onto the pillar with one hand, I slipped a peach seed into my mouth, cracking it between my teeth as I scanned the fog for Margaret. As my wound knit together painfully, the sound of Margaret's grimoire snapping close rang in my ears once more.

" **Garu**." With a gust of wind, the fog was temporarily dispelled around Margaret, while Cu Cthulainn twirled his spear next to her. I hugged the pillar closely, glad that the wind spell can only dispelled a small area of fog before it returns.

Margaret scanned the fog, and I held my breath as I felt her gaze pass by me. After a few seconds, the area that Cu Cthulainn just cleared out started fogging over once more. The secretary arched one eyebrow slightly before shrugging and opening her grimoire once more. Four more summoning auras lit up the area, and Loki, Yoshitune, Okuninushi, and Siegfried stepped out of the auras, joining Cu Cuthalainn.

"Find him." My brows furrowed as Margaret's Personas scattered in several directions.

 _'Jesus Christ… she doesn't treat her Personas as partners as much as she treats them as underlings…. Truly befitting her title as She Who Resides Over Power… she does not wield or use power, she is the master of power itself…'_

 _'Caius, we should go.'_ Eubuleus warned.

 _'Agreed.'_ Under the cover of fog, I started climbing up the pillar which I clung to, quickly making my way up to the main level. Underneath, I heard Margaret cluck her tongue in annoyance.

"Too slow…" The flipping of pages followed, before the sound of a Persona summoning rang through the air once more. "Helel, if you please."

I snuck a peek back, only to mind the figure of Helel crouching over Margaret, the studio barely able to contain his massive size. The giant angel Persona smirked before flexing his six wings slightly, whipping up a giant cyclone within the studio. Locking my arms onto the pillar, I braced myself as the cyclone dispelled most of the fog in the studio.

 _'Caius! That's not wind magic!'_ Eubuleus' voice rang in my mind.

 _'It's not… it's just the natural wind caused by a giant with six wings. So?'_

 _'Then it can't damage you. USE IT!'_ As Eubuleus' words fell, images of his idea flashed through my mind. I grinned a bloody smile.

 _'That's nuts, and there's a high chance of death… couldn't have come up with anything better.'_ Looking down, I saw Helel stretch his wings once more. As the Persona brought forth another giant gust of wind, dispelling all of the fog within the studio, I leapt off the pillar, meeting the cyclone straight on. Margaret's eyes flashed once as she saw me falling through the air.

The cyclone generated from Helel's wings hit my full on and pushed me upwards. Flipping in midair, I grabbed onto one of the iron rafters and hoisted myself onto the platform above. Looking down again, my eyes widened as I saw Margaret simply floating her way slowly upwards towards the platform.

 _'Of course she's gonna just float up here after I busted my ass climbing up. Why is it that it's always the bad guys who get the swiss army knife powers?!'_

 _'Are you really in any position to call anyone bad guys?'_ Eubuleus questioned. I snarled slightly in annoyance.

 _'Quit it Eubuleus. Morality is subjective.'_ Scrambling to my feet, I sprinted towards the massive stack of TV's. Out of the corner of my eye, a silver flash appeared and I leapt into the air, barely avoiding the spear of Cu Cthulainn as it struck the ground where I was already standing. As I soared in the air, Okuninushi appeared next to me, raising his katana in preparation to strike.

 _*CLANG*_

As Eubuleus blocked the hit with his cross, the figure of Loki emerged from within the shadows of Okuninushi and grabbed onto my ankle. From one of the rafters, Yoshitune loosened his katana from its sheath with an audible slither. Eyes widening, I quickly pulled out my evoker and pressed it against my temple.

" **Mabufudyne**!" A shell of ice quickly formed around me as Yoshitune freed his katana from its sheath, the blade gleaming crimson.

 **Hassou Tobi**. Yoshitune's eight slashes shattered my icy dome and sent me flying back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two silver flashes as Cu Cthulainn and Okuninushi tried to catch up to my flying body.

" **BEWILDERING FOG**!" With a roar, I released a wave of fog, confounding the Personas and earning myself a few precious seconds to right myself and land back on my feel. Fishing out another peach seed from my pocket, I crushed it between my teeth as the sound of Margaret's grimoire snapped again through the fog.

" **Garu**." A gust of wind dispelled the fog, revealing Margaret floating idly as her Personas stood guard next to her. My eyes darted over to the stack of tv portals, just a mere 5 meters away from me.

 _I should be able to make that sprint… provided…_

"Well Caius? Don't tell me you're finished…" Margaret's slightly seductive tone broke me out of my train of thought. "That would be a disappointing end after such a fun evening…" I grinned a macabre smile at the secretary.

"If you're idea of fun is what I've been providing, taking you out on a date must be quite a chore…" Wiping off a trace of blood from the corner of my mouth, I rummaged through my bag once more. "Well, if that's what you want… let's see what else I have in my bag of tricks… Oh wait, what is this?" Margaret's eyes lit up with interest, and a small smile glanced on her lips.

"Well…? Don't keep a lady waiting, Caius. It's very un-gentleman like."

"Alright then. Presenting…" With a grand flourish, I pulled out an item from my bag. "Detonator Number Two!"

As I spoke, I pressed down on the detonator's switch. Several explosions rocked the studio as all the supporting pillars were simultaneously destroyed by explosives. Margaret's eyes widened with surprise, and all her Personas dematerialized as the secretary become distracted. Throwing the detonator away, I broke out with a sprint towards the tv portal.

With a distinct whistling of sharpness flying through the air, I felt a coldness pass through my legs and I collapsed two meters before the tv portals on the falling platform. Glancing back, I saw Margaret continue to float as she twirled a swarm of bloodstained tarot cards through the air. Gritting my teeth, I roared as a migraine erupted from behind my eyes and tears of blood flowed from my eyes.

" **Mabufudyne**!" A pillar of ice erupted from under me and pushed me towards the portals. Curling myself into a ball, I managed to shrink myself enough to fit through the small screen as the ice pillar propelled me through before Margaret can do anything else to stop me. As I tumbled onto the ground of the Junes electronic department, I quickly pulled out my evoker and pointed it at my jaw.

" **Atom Smasher**!" Eubuleus crackled, and all the televisions along the aisles was destroyed instantly by the deep violet slashes.

' _That should slow down Margaret a bit…'_ Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention to my bleeding leg. _'Damn, I think she hamstrung me.'_

' _You got something for that?'_

' _Who do you take me for?'_ Grunting in pain and annoyance, I pulled out an ointment from my bag and smeared it onto the wound. After the nerves, tendons, and muscles knit themselves back together painfully, I stood up and hobbled towards the exit. _'Must… contact Sho…'_

* * *

 _Top of Inaba hills. Dark Hour_

For the tenth time that night, Sho paused sharpening his combat knife to look at the sky with impatience. Behind him, a Shadow slowly creeped close, only to shriek and die as the punster threw the knife between its eyes without even turning his head around. After the Shadow fizzled into a pile of ichor, Sho sighed and picked up his knife once more, drawing a whetstone along its edge.

"Tch… Fucking Caius. Having me stay out here in the boonies during the Dark Hour doing nothing while he gets to have all the action to himself… that paycheck of his better be worth it…" As he spoke, a faint blush appeared on the punster's face as he considered the advice his leader gave him on where to spend the money on.

 _"Use the extra money to take Marie out on date."_

 _Who the hell does he think he is?! Telling me where to spend my money. And if he dies tonight, it's not like he'll be able to pay up anyways._

The punster shook his head violently and snarled under his breath. To his massive annoyance though, the images of several restaurants as well as that of the lame goddess of Inaba flashed through his mind. Sho snarled once more.

 _Minazuki? Is that you doing this shit?!_

No response. Sho sighed in resignation. Despite the tips given to him by Caius and Elizabeth, he just can't seem to master the methods of communication with his Persona. The two of them had swapped hundreds of theories over why this is the case, but it doesn't lessen the punter's frustration at not being able to talk to his other half, especially since they were literally partners in crime for the majority of his life.

 _Well, at least he throws images at me now and them. I know that much._ With another sigh, Sho continued to draw the whetstone along the edge of the combat knife, continuing to sharpen the already absurdly keen edge. _Maybe one day I'll get it, and then life may finally get back to how it was before we met Hi-no-katgutuchi…_

As Sho drew the whetstone along his knife once more, a red glint from the knife caught his attention. Looking up, the punster saw a red flare flying upwards, its red light clashing with the ghastly green light of the moon and reflecting off his blade. After a few seconds, a grim smile spread along Sho's face.

"About damn time…" Sheathing his dagger, the punster stood up with a deep breath before walking over to the edge of the mountainside he was atop. As he walked, a red flaming aura gradually encased him and his eyes gave off a crimson gleam. Rummaging through his jacket, the punster pulled out a bottle of pills labeled 'Soul Food'.

"Bottoms up." With a deep breath, the flaming punster poured the entire content of the bottle into his mouth, chewing down the pills as they came. Almost instantly, a searing heat started burning in his stomach, spreading out towards his limbs. Retching dryly, Sho noted the taste of blood coming from behind his throat.

 _Seems like it's too much energy for this body… Better do this quickly…_

Staggering upright, the punster glared at the town of Inaba under him, before releasing all of the energy with a scream. The crimson aura surrounding the punster flared up as energy was poured in it.

"HI-NO-KATGUSUCHI!" As the punster roared, blood seeped out from his eyes, nose, and mouth. The crimson aura of the flame god flared up even more for a second, before rolling red fog emerged from the aura, seeping into the Dark Hour and covering the entire town of Inaba. As the city become hidden within the fog once more, Sho's aura died down and the punster collapsed onto his back.

 _Yeah… our witless leader sure owes me now…_

The clicking of heels shook the punster out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to a side to see a pair of jet black boots standing to a side. A smile glanced the punster's lips as he looked up to see a very irritated Goddess glaring at him.

"S'up, Marie?"

"Don't you 's'up' me!" The Goddess yelled in frustration. "What did you do to my town?!"

"Uh…. Flooded it with fog? Don't think it's gonna hurt anyone… after all, they're all in their coffins, right?" Sho mumbled. It was one thing to channel Hi-no-katgusuchi for everyday battles… it was another to actually use the Fire God's magic.

"And might I ask why you did that?"

"Eh… no idea. Sense of aesthetic?" Sho offered up weakly. Marie snorted and started to walk away, only for the voice of Sho to ring up once more. "Alright, alright, our witless leader asked me to, okay? Geeze…"

"Why would he…" Marie mumbled to herself before her eyes widened. "Of course… WHY WOULD HE BRING HIS FIGHT TO INABA?! STUPID JERKFACE!" As she started to leave, a hand grabbed onto her ankle, causing the Goddess to look down. The punster had grabbed onto her ankle and was offering a smile.

"…stay…?" A light blush dusted the Inaba Goddess' face. Despite becoming more… cordial with recent interactions, it was still quite a rare occurrence for Sho to actively ask for someone's companionship. However… that still left Caius as a problem…

"Who is he fighting?"

"Liz's sister." Marie's eyes widened with the revelation.

"No wonder… well in that case I doubt I'll be able to do much even if I went there… Margaret is scary… Fine, I'll stay your stupid jerkface." A sly smile crossed Marie's lips as she sat down and cradled the punster's head on her lap. "And besides, I think Margaret's gonna teach Caius more of a lesson than I ever could…"

"Don't count out our witless leader just yet… he's got a few tricks up his sleeve."

"No doubt." Marie hummed contently. "But know this: If anyone or anything from Inaba gets hurt because of this fight, I'm gonna use to the first favor he owes me to have him shove his head up his own ass."

"I… would pay you money just so I can see that."

* * *

 _Caius POV  
_

I smirked as the red fog rolled across the landscape of Inaba. Throwing away the flare gun in my off hand, I sprinted along the highway towards the Inaba suburbs. From behind, the distinct sound of Margaret's grimoire snapping can be heard.

" **Garu**." A gust of wind passed only to reveal barely half a block's worth of fog has been cleared by Cu Cthulainn. I smirked to myself as I continued sprinting.

 _Try all you want Margaret…. The power of willful isolation is not something you can sweep aside so easily with a garu spell…_

Another snap of the grimoire caught my attention, as Margaret's voice rang out from within the fog.

"Well… Helel, if you will." My eyes widened at the name and I spared a peek back, only to have my jaw drop at the sight. Within the summoning aura, Helel stood up in his full majestic glory, his wings furled up behind him. Slowly and deliberately, the giant Persona spread his wings in preparation. I gulped nervously and sped up my footsteps.

 _Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, fuck no_ …

As I sprinted, the sound of Helel's wings shook the entire area, and I was flung into the air by a massive cyclone several times larger than the one stirred up in the Midnight studio. As I flew uncontrollably through the air, Yoshitune appeared next to me in a flash, hand on his katana. My eyes widened as streams of blood leaked from my tear ducts.

" **Mabufudyne**!"

 **Hassou Tobi.**

The shield of ice barely managed to form around me before the crimson samurai's slashes crashed into me, sending me flying backwards into the fog. Margaret's sigh of annoyance can be clearly heard as I disappeared within the crimson fog once more, before her grimoire snapped once more.

"Helel, if you will…" Gritting my teeth, I held onto the roof that I landed on as the cyclone passed by once more, driving the crimson fog back even further. Slipping another peach seed into my mouth, I scrambled to my feet and resumed sprinting along the rooftops. On either side, Yoshitune and Cu Cthulainn flanked me, the personas sprinting to keep up with me.

 **Panta Rhei**.

Cu Cthulainn twirled his spear, and I dived to one side, dodging the destructive cyclone that struck where I was standing. On my other side, Yoshitune drew his sword with an audible slither.

 **Hassou Tobi**.

Leaping into the air, I barely dodged the interlocking strikes of Yoshitune, before landing on another rooftop with a roll and continuing my sprint. As I ran, I pulled out my evoker and pulled the trigger as the muzzle touched my temple.

" **Mabufudyne**."

A thick, smooth sheet of ice covered the surface of the rooftop which I was on. I had no problem sprinting along the ice like normal, but the two personas weren't so lucky. As I leapt gracefully to the next rooftop, both Yoshitune and Cu Cthulainn failed to gain any footing and slid off the edge of the rooftop, dematerializing as they fell. Leaping past a few more rooftops, I let out a sigh of relief as the crimson fog started rolling back again.

"Helel." My eyes widened at the simple command before the cyclone whipped up by the Lightbringer's wings pushed back the crimson fog once more and sent me flying for several blocks like a ragdoll. Barely stopping my fall on one of the roofs, I hunched over and coughed out a few droplets of blood before looking around. A faint grin passed my lips as I recognized the location.

The sound of pages flipping brought my attention upwards, and I saw Margaret floating high above me, her grimoire floating like a loyal hawk next to her. The secretary had a serene smile on her lips, but her eyes betrayed signs of annoyance.

"Enough running, Caius. If you intend to forfeit this fight, at least have the decency to tell me and return my bookmark while doing so." The secretary rolled her eyes and sighed.

"If I intended to forfeit I would've told you so once you escaped what was left of Magatsu Inaba. No… you are exactly where I want you to be." As I spoke, I rummaged through my bag once more. Margaret looked at me with renewed interest.

"Oh? So you have a trap for me?" I almost laughed at the secretary's eager voice.

"In a manner of speaking." Pulling out thick block with a detonator attached, I squeezed down on the trigger immediately. Margaret looked on with interest, only to raise an eyebrow as nothing happened.

"Having some technical difficulties?"

"Nope. Let me introduce you to my little friend here." I smirked and gestured towards the device in my hands, keeping my thumb pressed down on the trigger. "This is a block of C4 with a detonator inserted. The detonator itself is a dead man's switch, which I just triggered; if you're unfamiliar with the term, it means that if I let go of this device for any reason whatsoever, it'll blow up and kill me as well as whoever is living in this house that I'm standing on." Margaret nodded in acknowledgement, her intrigued expression unchanging.

"So you're taking innocents hostage. From what Elizabeth told me of you, this is to be expected. I suppose that if I concede defeat and swear to leave my foolish sister alone, you would disable the device and leave in peace?" I nodded my head at her words, and Margaret smiled. Tilting her head slightly, the secretary opened her grimoire, allowing a shining Persona card to fall between its pages. "However, tell me this Caius: I am an avatar of power who has seen countless human eras rise and fall, and countless humans killing each other for reasons noble, ignoble, or petty. Why would your threat deter me?"

I stared at her for a few seconds, and then threw back my head in laughter. Margaret maintained an interested expression as my laughter rang though the night.

""Snrk…. Heheheheheheh….. hahahahahaha…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!" Managing to stifle my laughter for a few seconds, I gestured at my surroundings. "You mean… you don't know where we ARE?"

Margaret took a closer look at the house upon which I was standing. As her gaze drew pass the garage, the silver scooter in front of the garage, and then the small garden situated at the side of the house, an expression of comprehension crossed her face. I snickered slightly before spreading out my arms in a grandiose display.

"Welcome to the Dojima household! Unfortunately, while both of our hosts are home, they seem to be suffering from symptoms of transmogrification. Whether or not they ever wake up again really depends on whether or not this bomb in my hand blows up." For the first time in the evening, an expression of irritation crossed Margaret's face, but I had already crossed the point of no return. I waved the explosive at Margaret once more.

"So… are you gonna change your stance on where Elizabeth should stay, or are you gonna explain to Narukami why his family is in gobbets the next time you see him? Because I certainly won't be around to do any talking."

* * *

A/N: THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A THREE CHAPTER STORY. WHY AM I ON CHAPTER 6?! :D

Anyways, the moral is that stories grow by themselves, and you never know how long a fic is even when you have a clear timeline for what happens when and how...

Also, college starts again next Monday, and I have a lot to do. So... maybe I won't be able to update as frequently? But I'll finish this, I promise. I did the actual story, so there's no way a sequel side story would stop me! :D

Please R&R!


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